Apple has a support document which outlines this problem and how to fix it here. This only fixes part of a bigger problem. First we need to understand what Recent mode is. This is right from Google’s Help page:

If you’re accessing your Gmail using POP from multiple clients, Gmail’s recent mode makes sure that all messages are made available to each client, rather than only to the first client to access new mail.

Recent mode fetches the last 30 days of mail, regardless of whether it’s been sent to another POP client already.

If you use multiple Email clients, then Recent Mode is a must and you will want to keep it on. For argument sake, lets say you only access Gmail POP from your iPhone. Turning off Recent Mode will fix one problem, and only one. Sent Email from your iPhone ONLY will not show up. Emails sent from other POP clients and the Web interface still show up in your iPhone’s Inbox.

This happens due to the way threaded conversations work in Gmail. With a Blackberry, you can set up a BIS Filter for all emails with your address in the from field to not forward to the Blackberry. We have no such luxury with the iPhone since it doesn’t support filters. And don’t listen to the people who say to create a filter in Gmail to delete your send messages. It will prevent the emails from showing up but the messages will get emptied from the Trash after 30 days and threaded conversations will no longer be useful.

As of now we have a few half-assed workarounds that degrade Gmail functionality. So unless Apple updates the iPhone with an internal filter when using Gmail or Google releases full IMAP support, us Gmail/iPhone users are stuck with this.

January – started using Mac OS X

February – built dedicated computer to run Mac OS X on

March – Starting using iTunes to manager my media

April – stopped using Bloglines, switched from Exchange to Google Mail and Google Calendar, bought a Jimi wallet

May – switched Layout, Skype is free for the rest of the year, started a new job, Macbook’s released, went to grand opening of Apple 5th Ave store, bought my Macbook

June – joined valleyshwag, MC360 released for XBMC, bought a Nintendo DS Lite, canceled my Final Fantasy XI account after 3 years

July – switched to Flock, Macbook got hit with discoloration, started running using the Nike+iPod kit, Macbook Random Reboots started

August – switched from del.icio.us to Shadows, started using OpenDNS, got hard to find Trauma Center and Phoenix Wright for the DS, new mc chris and Evanescence albums, bought the Timbuk2 blogger bag

September – started new full-time job, fall TV season starts, bought a Xbox360 after Guitar Hero 2 is announced with new controller, canceled my Myspace account

October – got tickets for macworld 2007, Xbox360 troubles, 300 trailer, Macbook RSS fixed, bought my first Blackberry, my Xbox360 has its own blog

November – interviewed for MacNewsWorld, Gears of War, Guitar Hero II and Elite Beat Agents all released on same day, turned 28, XBL Video Marketplace released, subscribed to Netflix and Gamefly, bought an HD DVD

December – Geekdrome dead, started reading comics again, finally found out what all the hype about Battlestar Galactica, Veronica Mars and Greys Anatomy was all about

Gmail Setup

1) Log into Gmail and goto Settings
2) Click on the Forwarding and Pop tab at the top
3) Check “Enable POP only for mail that arrives from now on”
4) Save Changes

Blackberry Setup

1) Log into T-Mobile
2) Under Messaging, click on “Set Up Blackberry Internet E-mail”
3) Click “Setup Account”
4) Enter your @gmail.com address and password
5) You should now receive a TXT message saying your account has been successfully setup

You should now start receiving your Gmail emails almost instantaneously.

Filters

One small problem you will notice with Gmail is that every time you compose a new email or reply to one, you receive a copy of that email on your Blackberry. Its annoying to say the least. We can fix this with a Server side filter.

1) Log into T-Mobile
2) Under Messaging, click on “Set Up Blackberry Internet E-mail”
3) Click the Filters icon under your Gmail account
4) Click “Add Filter”
5) Create a Filter name. This can be anything, I call mine “Gmail Sent”
6) Choose “From field” in the Apply Filter when:
7) Type your gmail.com address in the “Contains Field”
8) Select “Do Not forward messages to handheld”

You should now no longer receive replys on your Blackberry.

Found a nifty little plugin for Gmail Notifier that adds Growl notifications when you receive email. Its probably only a matter of time before Gmail Notifier supports it natively but in the mean time, head over to Gmail+Growl’s homepage and download the free plug in.

First one is called GCalQuickTab and it allows you to use the “Quick Links” at the top left corner to jump between open tabs instead of the default behavior of opening new tabs every time. It always provides keyboard shortcuts to switching to Gmail and Gcal using “g” and “l” respectively.

Second one is called goocal which is very basic right now but provides a icon in the statusbar that brings you directly to Google Calendar. This way you don’t have to clutter up your bookmark bar.

This gives me basically instant access to my calendar when i need it. If I’m already in Gmail i just hit “l” and it opens up Gcal where i can then hit “q” to Quick add an appointment. Or i just click on the Calendar icon if nothing is open. If i need Gmail, its just a “g” away from there.

You could also add in the Gmail Notifier for Firefox too but i prefer the standalone one.