Sorry for double post - initially posted in a wrong place....

Wife just got a Blackberry from work and I can't get amazed at how awesome Push email can be (OK, it can also be extrememly annoying and distracting, but let's forget that for a sec.).

Now, I'm sitting here, puzzled, trying to understand how she can receive that stuff instantly, including her Hotmail account...

Correct me if I'm wrong, somebody, on the following statements:

In order to get push email to work RIM (Blackberry) had to get a deal with the cell network provider to send email to the device similarily to as it sends a call to a mobile phone or delivers an SMS message. Correct?

In other words, Blackberry push email DOES NOT use wireless internet, just a cell network. Correct?

If that's the case - again - correct me if I'm wrong - iPhone (Apple) totally screwed up not arranging a similar deal with cell providers (which provided a visual voicemail at Apple's request, so what the heck not push email???) hence we are still basically banned from Push email on our iPhones. One solution, MobileMe is not really a solution as it uses Wirelless Internet, which then forces the phone to - rather than receive email as it would a phone call/sms - check MobileMe network all the time - which in turn drains our batterries in a matter of hours (and is only a 'simulated push email' - in reality a Pull email). Exchange Active Sync, even if all our companies used MS software and provided this service to us, is simlarily using Internet, hence not true Blackberry-like Push email. Is this all correct, or am I totally mistaken and there is some awesome thing I'm overlooking here...

The blackberry has to work roughly the same way. A notification is sent to the blackberry when mail is recieved remotely. It must use EDGE/UMTS/EVDO to download the whole mail just like the iPhone.

The only main differences that can exist:
1) is that the blackberry might sometimes immediately connect to the internet and download the mail, whereas the iPhone only downloads mail if the Mail.app is open.
2) Alternatively, if they want to fool you into thinking it's all there, they can send a snippet of the email through the notification system and put that up as the "preview" while downloading it.

Neither of these are negotiated with the cell providers.