[MlMt] AltaMail vs. Preside?

[Zak McClellan]

Bryce-

I am late to post on your question.  I use/have used both AltaMail and 
Preside.  They are both good options with different features.  I started 
with AltaMail (Classic) so probably a bit biased.  I stuck around for 
the upgrade/transition to subscription.

My main email client to triage messages on iPhone is Mail.  The GUI is 
just better and I am quickly able to swipe away unwanted email.  After 
the basics, the two features I stressed for iOS are Notifications and 
Tags/Keywords.  On the iPhone AltaMail is my choice.

Mail only offers a VIP list of notifications. I receive too many 
messages for every email to 'ding'. I use AltaMail so I can use a 
(business) client's domain for notifications.  So anytime anyone from a 
client sends an email I receive a separate notification tone.  Often I 
do not know the person or have any contact information.  So this 
prevents their message from going unnoticed.  I do wish that custom 
tones were allowed.  Right now there is only a set list.
I also have specific tones for specific people.  Some messages just mean 
more. ;-)

Tags/Keywords are also available.  If I recall these are not on by 
default.  In fact they may be called Flags which makes it more 
confusing.  There were some settings to tweak.  And as you noted the 
settings menus are not for the faint of heart.  You also have to turn on 
the tags you want to use.  This is a feature and bug.  I have a long tag 
list so I appreciate being able to shorten it on the small screen.  
Those with a shorter list wanting to see everything may find checking 
every item for visibility to be laborious.

One thing missing for all iOS email clients is the availability of 
Markdown, especially tables.  I currently draft messages in 1Writer for 
emailing Markdown, but tables do not translate well into iOS Mail from 
1Writer.  They're decent but not the same as on the desktop.

Enjoyed your article.  There are a lot of choices and details.  But 
that's good for everyone.

-Zak


> -----Original Message-----
> Date: Thu, 14 May 2020 18:00:20 -0500
> From: "Bryce Wray" <bwray at wraytx.com>
> To: mailmate at lists.freron.com
> Subject: Re: [MlMt] AltaMail vs. Preside?
> Message-ID: <100A5145-53FD-469C-B468-48E5CD085FDF at wraytx.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
>
> On 9 May 2020, at 12:07, Bryce Wray wrote:
>
>> A search of the list archives suggests that those of you seeking a
>> MailMate-like experience on iOS have generally ended up with one of
>> two apps, either AltaMail or Preside. I am trying both now—and, in
>> the interests of full disclosure, wish to note that I plan to write a
>> (totally unpaid-for) blog post about this subject—so I would
>> appreciate knowing your feelings, if any, about each app **and**
>> whether you’ve actually made either your go-to iOS mail app. *(Re
>> the blog post: rest assured I would quote you by name* ***only*** *if
>> you explicitly approve. I mainly just want to get a “sense of the
>> room,” but would also appreciate some particularly cogent quotes if
>> applicable.)*
>
> Just following up to let you folks know that the blog post is now up 
> at:
> https://brycewray.com/posts/2020/05/battle-ios-email-heavyweights/
>
> . . . and, as I note in the Acknowledgement at its end, I am **very**
> grateful to all of you who responded with your observations as
> requested. Many thanks! And please feel free to point out any errors 
> you
> may find in the post. I’ll be more than happy to correct them.
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Bryce Wray
> bwray at wraytx.com
> https://brycewray.com