So how do you access your Gmail on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? Do you use the built-in iOS Mail app? Using Apple's Mail app has several advantages. It's the (unchangeable) default mail client on iOS, and it has full background multitasking permissions, so unless you've turned everything to manual, your messages are usually ready and waiting for you the moment you launch the app. No App Store app is allowed any of that. However, it doesn't support Gmail's Stars or Labels, and Flags and Folders aren't the same.
If you use Apple's Mail app, do you set up Gmail as Gmail, which is the obvious way to do it, given the giant logo label? It uses IMAP so it isn't push, but does that really matter to you? Or do you set up Gmail as Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) in Apple Mail instead? Does the combination of push as well as Contacts sync win you over?
What about those of you for whom Apple Mail just isn't the right solution? Do you use the Gmail.com website? It has the advantage of fast access to your mail and local storage, but because it's locked in Safari you don't get to do attachments or access your iOS Contacts, and you don't get push notifications. Do you use the Gmail app, so you can add attachments and access your Contacts? Or is the lack of background email processing just too annoying for you?
If neither Apple nor Google's solutions are good enough for you, is Sparrow your go to Gmail app? It has a great interface, but like any App Store app it can't keep an internet connection open in the background, so you can't download email as it comes in -- you have to wait until you launch the app. It doesn't have push notifications yet either, and when they come, they'll require a subscription. Is it worth it?
Or do you not use Gmail at all? And if not, why not?
Give me your vote in the poll up top and your reasons why in the comments below. Here's the question again: How do you use Gmail on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad?
