A few months ago, shortly after Google unveiled IMAP service for Gmail, Windows Mobile users noticed a problem: many of their email messages were blank.

It took a while, but the company has now fixed this bug, and those with a Windows Mobile smartphone or handheld can now use Gmail with IMAP.

There is a set of instructions on Google's web site detailing how to set up a Windows Mobile email account to connect to Gmail over IMAP.

This change has no effect on Google's POP3 service.

What Is IMAP?

IMAP gives users more control over messages on an email server than the less-advanced POP3 service does.

For example, with IMAP, users can view the contents of multiple folders and make changes that immediately affect messages on the server.

The simplest and most common use though, is to delete unwanted messages on a remote device and have them removed off the server.

There's more information on IMAP on Google's web site.