Mail

Apple has begun sending out emails to inform iCloud users that @icloud.com email addresses have been reserved for them. These seem to be directed towards previous MobileMe users who had @me.com (or legacy @mac.com) addresses. I don't recall email addresses being reserved following the mac.com to me.com transition, and icloud.com, and there's no additional information or context provided.

Microsoft has released Outlook.com, what they consider to be the next-generation of email. And much to their credit, Microsoft have gone above and beyond to make sure you can access it not only on the web, but from any and all of your devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Here's how.

Microsoft has announced Outlook.com, a free, web-based email service that clearly has its sites set on Google's hugely popular Gmail service. Of course, Microsoft already has Hotmail, who's very name meant HTML mail (HoTMail), and live.com, but they've never been shy about multiple, seemingly redundant offerings. But this seems different. Rather than doubling up, Outlook.com seems to be a new layer -- a way to offer something new without forcing old users to just take it. According to the Office blog:

The Gmail for iPhone app received an update today that includes the long awaited ability to save picture attachments to your Camera Roll. It has also received performance enhancements that improve the animation and scrolling experience.

Yet another little gem from WWDC is a new VIP inbox for your iOS and OSX e-mail apps, allowing you to separate the wheat from the chaff, and see only messages from designated contacts. In iOS, you'll receive SMS-style notifications when a VIP e-mails you, and those VIP designations will sync up over iCloud to your Mac and other iOS devices.

Siri isn't just another voice control system, it remembers context and it can understand relationships. That means, for example, you can tell Siri to call your wife's iPhone, and Siri will know who that is and which phone number to dial.

Sparrow for iPhone is an email client that offers many more features than Apple's built in Mail app such as the ability to add attachments when composing a message, a multi-pane navigation layout, and custom signatures. The main new feature in today's update is landscape composing. Unfortunately, the biggest feature that users have been waiting for, push notifications, is still absent from Sparrow.

Everything you need to know to get your mail, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, notes, and reminders syncing with iCloud

iCloud includes push email, calendaring, and contact services. That means whenever you get an email, it's immediately made available on all your devices. Whenever you make or change an appointment it shows up in your calendar on all your devices. Whenever you add or change contact information, its reflected in the contacts on all of your devices. You can access these services via the Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, via the iCloud.com website from any desktop browser, or through popular mail, calendar, and contacts apps on your Mac or Windows PC.

Now when you click on a hyperlink in Sparrow for iPhone, you will not be taken out of the app and into Safari, but, instead, a nice built-in web browser will slide in. When you're done looking at the website, your mail is just a tap away.

More often than not, email just simply “works” on your iPad. You input your account information when you setup the iPad and email is received flawlessly.  Occasionally, however, problems do arise and need to be fixed.

Sometimes, it is an issue with the email server, sometimes it is a connectivity issue and sometimes you are just missing a key piece of information in the account setup.

Usually, the solution is simple like a wrong password or switch. We will try to walk you through potential problems and their fixes.