今天一早打开信箱,看到Google本月的Google Friends Newsletter,  发现Gmail竟然支持IMAP协议了:

Gmail with IMAP

You now have the ability to use the IMAP protocol for Gmail (including
Google Apps) free of charge. Unlike the POP protocol, IMAP enables you
to keep your inbox synced across all devices, so that whatever you do
in your email — whether on your phone, desktop mail client, or web
browser — shows up everywhere you access your email. Reading,
sending, deleting and other actions you take on your messages are
reflected automatically and instantaneously any place you get Gmail.

IMAP协议允许用户在服务器端保留邮件, 更重要的是在客户端的所有操作可以即时同步到服务器端, 用起来应该是很方便的. 但几乎是所有免费邮件服务商都出于种种方面的考虑都不提供IMAP协议的支持, Gmail是我所知道的第一家支持IMAP协议的免费Email提供者.

本想体验一下IMAP协议的方便性的, 但打开我常用的DreamMail, 发现竟然不支持IMAP协议. 原来国内几乎见不到IMAP协议的信箱, 所以开发者干脆就没加这一方面的支持. 不过, DreamMail升级很快的, 估计官方可能不久就会推出支持IMAP协议的新版本了.