Droid X: The Missing Manual

Setting Up Gmail

Android is built from the ground up to integrate with Google services—search, Google Maps, and Gmail. If you already have a Gmail account, then when you set up your Droid X, you tie into that account. If you don’t have a Gmail account, you first need to set one up.

Note

When you first bring your Droid X home, you may already be set up to use Gmail. Often, Verizon sales staff set up your Gmail account right in the store for you.

When you use the Gmail app on your Droid X, it synchronizes with your web-based Gmail. So when you delete an email on the Droid X, for example, it deletes it on the web-based Gmail; when you create and send an email on your Droid X, it shows up in your Sent folder on the Web; and so on.

Signing up for a Gmail account is free and takes only a few minutes. You can create it on the Web or on the Droid X. To do it on the Web, head to www.gmail.com. Fill in the usual information, such as first and last name, login name, and password. The login name you choose becomes your email address. So if you use the login name petey.bigtoes, then your email address will be [e-mail]. So make your login name something pleasant and easy to remember.

Note

When you create a Gmail account, you’re actually setting up an account for all of Google’s services, not just Gmail. You use the same account to access Google Calendar and other services. In other words, if you have a Google Calendar account, then you already have a Gmail account. Use that information ...