I do have two small quibbles and one large complaint with Firemail. First, as with just about every free app I've ever encountered, Firemail does crash randomly and without provocation, but not often. When the app has crashed, however, I've never lost my text. Second, the app really should integrate the user's contacts, instead of forcing you to add contacts after the fact in Mail.

The big problem with Firemail is a bug with its bookmarking feature. Save more than five bookmarks, and your older items get bumped off the horizontal screen. And, no, you cannot scroll. I didn't notice this at first, because I didn't use the bookmarks very much. My modus operandi when it comes to e-mail tends to be fire and forget. But bookmarks are useful for saving signatures and boilerplate messages. If you need more than five, Firemail will disappoint. I hope the developer addresses this issue in a future release, because it seems like an obvious and simple issue to correct.

That said, Firemail has become home-screen essential for me. This solid, free e-mail app's welcome landscape view will open new horizons for you.

Firemail is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.x software update.

[Ben Boychuk is a writer and columnist in Rialto, Calif.]