Email and webmail?
QI’m not very good with computers. A couple of years ago I employed a local technician to set me up with an ipad. I use this for email and web browsing, and the odd puzzle game.
I recently broke the screen and, while it still works, I want to replace it. The local technician is no longer in business, so I’m wondering if you can explain how to transfer my email system to a new ipad? I recall him saying that the Gmail address he made for me was webmail, but that the ipad syncs to it using the Mail app. That obviously works, and has done for years, but I don’t really understand how it all links up. What’s the difference between Mail, Gmail, email and webmail? He did give me all the passwords and so on.
ALet’s start with Gmail, which is the name of an email service provided by Google. It can be accessed in a variety of ways, including via a web browser. So, from that perspective, Gmail is webmail: an email service that is accessed and managed via the web.
However, Gmail can also be accessed and managed like a more traditional email service, meaning it can be synced outside a web browser and used with email tools that aren’t made by Google. The Apple Mail app is one such tool. As is the Windows Mail app that’s part of Windows 10 and 11, as well as the popular Outlook program – both made by Microsoft, of course.
So, those are the differences and relationships between Gmail, Mail, email and webmail. As for your question about transferring your setup, the good news is that an ipad (and indeed an iphone) makes this very easy. Switch on your new ipad/iphone next to your old device and the Quick Start tool will automatically begin (see screenshot).
There’s very little to do, other than enter your Apple username and password and then point your old device’s camera at the screen of the new one – and just follow the prompts. You’ll find Apple’s full instructions at www.snipca. com/40037.
Want to know the difference between technical terms? Email noproblem@ computeractive.co.uk