In just a few easy steps
Push Gmail has been one feature a lot of handheld users out there have been craving for over the past couple of years. Of course, several third-party solutions appeared (such as the GPush iPhone app we were talking about a month or so ago), but it wasn't something available for free, and, more importantly, it was restricted to iPhone users.


However, Google has finally decided to provide Gmail with push functionality, which can be very easily activated by any user, even the less tech-savvy ones. And here's a quick guide to what you'll have to do, according to the Official Gmail Blog. So, first of all, you should know that the task of setting up push Gmail can be done either by yourselves, or with the help of the Contacts and/or Calendar applications.

 
Now, Google does inform us that this functionality will only be enabled for the iPhone/iPod touch units running the latest OS versions, namely versions 3.0 or higher, so be sure to upgrade before trying to activate Push Gmail (we won't detail the respective process here, because it's very likely that most of you have carried out the updates already, given the exciting new features version 3.0 enables).
First of all, you'll have to visit m.google.com/sync from your computer, where you'll first be prompted to choose your phone. From there, after selecting the iPhone, you'll reach a second page, where detailed instructions regarding what you'll have to do next are provided.

While we won't list all of the steps (because they're detailed quite well in Google's own guide), we'll just say that this process shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, since it only involves going a little bit through the settings and setting up the Gmail account for properly enabling the push-in functionality.
It's also worth mentioning that the Push Gmail service can also be enabled on other handhelds as well, including here BlackBerry, Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile devices, the method being somewhat similar, albeit the software used in each case is quite obviously different.

And one last word of advice. As we've pointed out in our article regarding the improvement of HTC Hero's battery life, such an “always-on” service is likely to take a lot of battery life, as well as increase the costs of usage. In other words, if you don't really need to check your email every single second, then perhaps it's a good idea NOT to activate the Push Gmail functionality.