Most of the domains I have are on a shared hosting package with GoDaddy. If you are using GoDaddy, you know that the outgoing SMTP must be set to smtpout.secureserver.net. So, I tap Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Add Account… then selected Other. Additional options were Exchange, mobileme, Gmail, Yahoo and AOL.

I provided the basic information (name, email, etc.) Then it prompted for the incoming outgoing servers. This is when I wished the iPhone had copy paste feature (maybe it does but I have not found it yet) to enter the same domain over and over. It was a bit cumbersome on the narrow screen. I would have liked it if I could turn the phone to have the wide keyboard that is available while browsing the web. Oh well.

If you are setting up POP, be sure to select it at the top. Otherwise, you will have to wait for it to time out while it checks your IMAP settings.

So, I wait. The verifying POP account information dialog took a long time to complete. Unfortuenately, it failed but did not leave me with any information as to why. So, I wait again. And finally, after about three minutes it asks if I want to try without using SSL. And I wait again only to find out that I mis-types smtpout. Every other email client I have dealt with times out pretty darn fast when you make an error like that. Wow.

I had trouble getting the cursor to go to the ‘out’ so after a bit of frustration, I just deleted the enitre line and retyped it on the tiny keyboard. At this point, I am quite agrivated with the process. Only five more accounts to setup.

Oh, and just so you know, I tried to sync my account setting with iTunes before all of this crap. They accounts would not work. I kept getting invalid password errors. After typing in the passwords I don’t know how many times, I gave up. But, there’s more! My Exchange account would no longer sync the inbox (not that only being able to sync the inbox is at all useful for a user such as myself). So, I deleted the exchange account, re-entered all of that data and still no good. I ended up wiping the device and started over.

So, I wait again while it verifies the POP account information. I am more than 20 minutes into this process. What the hell could it need to verify that takes a million zillion years? After waiting another two minutes, it asks me about SSL again then goes back to verifying. Seriously, and not even an exageration: I could have setup 20 POP accounts in Outlook during the time it took to setup ONE on the iPhone. I could have typed in all the same info for, oh, let’s say 7 pop accounts on my blackberry (which, BTW, supports copy and paste).

Finally, my email works. I will do the others this weekend when I have time to waste.