I got one word for you: Hallelujah! Today, Google finally upgraded Google Sync to include push Gmail services on the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices. Why the cries of joy? This means Gmail will be delivered instantly rather than pulled at 15, 30, or 60-minute intervals.I rely on Gmail day in and day out for most of my business communications. One of my long-standing complaints with the iPhone and Gmail is that push email hasn't been supported. Push email, of course, is "pushed" (hence the moniker) from the email server directly to a mobile device. This means as soon as the email arrives in the server, it is delivered to the mobile phone.

Up until now, this is not how Gmail worked on the iPhone. Instead, users have had to make do with setting their iPhones to "pull" email from Gmail's servers instead. The most frequently Gmail can be retrieved automatically is once every 15 minutes, though users can choose to manually refresh any time the open their mail accounts.

For Google Sync users, this is good news indeed. Here's how it works. Douglas Gresham, Software Engineer, Google Mobile, writes, "Having an over-the-air, always-on connection means that your inbox is up to date, no matter where you are or what you're doing. Sync works with your phone's native email application so there's no additional software needed. Google Sync allows you to sync just your Contacts, Calendar, or Gmail, or any combination of the three. To try Google Sync, visit m.google.com/sync from your computer."

I just enabled the push email through Google Sync a few moments ago. It only works with iPhones running system software 3.0 and up. It requires a full device back-up first. Afterwards, follow the directions found here. Just as Google says, emails show up in my Gmail inbox and my iPhone at exactly the same time. The new functionality also works with devices running the Windows Mobile platform, though Google didn't specify which versions.