The joy of push email

We've been writing about push email for long enough, and now we ZDNet hacks have got shiny new Windows Mobile smartphones (in my case, the HTC S620, all hooked up to our corporate Exchange server.

Legacy tech hack (left) gets to grips with push email on HTC S620 (right).

Continuous access to company email is definitely a mixed blessing. There's certainly the 'CrackBerry' (or its Windows Mobile equivalent) syndrome of checking your inbox every five minutes: in the first few days I've come close to being run down by a bus on Southwark Bridge Road, and am likely to get duffed up the next time I bump into someone on the pavement while squinting at the S620.

Near-death experiences aside, it's undeniably useful to be able to keep the inbox under control by regularly deleting the rubbish that flows in — the daily commute to and from Bedfordshire is good for email-cleansing. And any concerns about work-life balance are offset by the fact that CNET Networks' chosen network operator doesn't manage a signal in my rural retreat.

The HTC S620 is a neat enough smartphone: I'd prefer 3G/HSDPA connectivity for faster web browsing, but GPRS is fine for the email functionality. Other than that, there's just the eccentric JOGGR scroll/select thing on the right-hand side to contend with (read our review for more detail on this). I'd definitely prefer a good old BlackBerry-style scroll wheel, and am likely to be giving the JOGGR the boot.

I'm unlikely to respond to your emails any quicker, but from now on I'll certainly be deleting any unwanted ones with alacrity!