Pop3 data use

[prestonmcafee]

I'm still trying to figure out why I use so much more data than I did with the Treo. I installed SPB GPRS monitor, and found that my T-Mobile MDA uses *way* too much data checking email. I have it set to download 4K maximum. Downloading two messages generally uses 50K and sometimes 100K. The record is 200K, when there were about 10 messages, which should have taken 40K.

Uploads are uniform at about 1K or 2K, all the data flow is downloads.

I'm not sure why, but my current theory is that if there are messages that are on the server that have been deleted from inbox but not deleted from the server, the entire 4K is downloaded for each of these messages, but then doesn't appear because once downloaded Inbox realizes these messages are in the deleted folder. But I'm not sure that is the reason and am still testing.

I wish snappermail was available for WM5.

[prestonmcafee]

I used SPB GPRS Monitor to keep track of the data use on my wizard. I have my device set to download a maximum of 4K. The results are quite peculiar. First, even when the server is empty, there is a variable amount of data used, ranging from 5K to 50K. Second, when there are messages that are already downloaded, they are apparently downloaded again, because even with no new downloads, data use is high and proportional to the number of messages on the server. Third, I'm averaging 50K of data use per message downloaded. Remember that I'm only getting 4K of the message and that feature works, in the sense that the message is truncated. Fourth, it is not downloading very large messages; it is number, not the size, of messages on the server that seems to determine data use.

I've turned off messaging (tmail) and am now experimenting with qmail. It is too early to tell for sure but it appears to be a solution -- data use appears much more moderate (after 24 hours of testing, however).

This is pretty important for those of us who roam overseas.