Should I switch e-mail to iCloud?

[BAC5.2]

I've been thinking about this recently, and wanted some input.

I've been a GMail user for years (since it was in its first beta days). Now that I'm all-mac (MBP, iPad, iPhone), I've been considering switching to iCloud for my mail client.

I'd gain push to my phone, instead of IMAP download every 15 minutes. That would conserve battery life quite a bit.

I have 3 Gmail accounts (and one school account, which would remain IMAP). I can create the same addresses as aliases in iCloud, and just forward mail from my Gmail account to there.

My reply addresses would be those same aliases, but @me.com instead of @gmail.com, right?

So supposing I do all of this, how would I go about backing up all of my e-mails? I'd like to have maybe the last 5 or 6 months worth of e-mail on my iCloud server, but the rest I can just store locally on my MBP.

Do you guys have any insight on that?

Is this even worth it?

I'd still use GMail to handle my calendar (through iCal), because I share the calendar with my wife and she uses exclusively gmail for her calendar.

Thoughts?

 

[Fliesen]

you do know that you can setup gmail so you'll get push email, do you?

forwarding mail from your john.appleseed@gmail.com to john.appleseed@me.com ...
for 3 accounts? :/

that's 6 total e-mail accounts, twice the spam filters.

as i said, gmail does push, if you set it up as gmail exchange, so i don't see the upside of your plan, really, except for just additional hassle :/

 

[BAC5.2]

When I last tried setting up Gmail as a Microsoft Exchange account, I couldn't have more than one. And when I DID set it up for my one account, there were some very strange behaviors going on.

Forwarding out of gmail bypasses the built-in spam filter, and I'd only have my iCloud account with 2 aliases. My 3 Gmail accounts would forward to those aliases, and I'd have one inbox on my iPhone and one inbox in Mail.app. Right now, I have 3 (well 4) individual e-mail accounts.

 

[Fliesen]

When I last tried setting up Gmail as a Microsoft Exchange account, I couldn't have more than one. And when I DID set it up for my one account, there were some very strange behaviors going on.

Forwarding out of gmail bypasses the built-in spam filter, and I'd only have my iCloud account with 2 aliases. My 3 Gmail accounts would forward to those aliases, and I'd have one inbox on my iPhone and one inbox in Mail.app. Right now, I have 3 (well 4) individual e-mail accounts.

oh, i didn't know that you could only have 1 gmail exchange (if that's the case)

 

[covertsurfer]

You can have 2 Exchange accounts

 

[ugahairydawgs]

oh, i didn't know that you could only have 1 gmail exchange (if that's the case)

I have two on mine (never tried more)

 

[BAC5.2]

You can have 2 Exchange accounts

Still not enough. I have 4 total gmail accounts. I can't do much with my University account, so I would want to use one of the exchange accounts for that.

What do you guys then think about using iCloud?

How can I load ~6 months worth of recent mail to the iCloud server?

 

[AlsoKnownAs]

How can I load ~6 months worth of recent mail to the iCloud server?

I have done this several times by setting up both accounts in Apple Mail and copying all email from one inbox to the other.

 

[BAC5.2]

I have done this several times by setting up both accounts in Apple Mail and copying all email from one inbox to the other.

That is a fantastic idea. Thanks!

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Still not enough. I have 4 total gmail accounts. I can't do much with my University account, so I would want to use one of the exchange accounts for that.

What do you guys then think about using iCloud?

How can I load ~6 months worth of recent mail to the iCloud server?

Do you have to have exchange for all 4 accounts? Personally I would just setup exchange for the two you need it for the most and then use IMAP for the other two.

If you are going to keep using Google for other services it really makes little sense to move email over to iCloud.

 

[BAC5.2]

I don't really use other Google services, though. I use iCal for my calendar, have little to no use for Google Documents, and don't use anything Android powered now.

The only thing I use Google for, is syncing my iCal and my wifes Google Calendar, which I can do because I'll be keeping my GMail accounts (and just forwarding them to iCloud)