POP, or Post Office Protocol, lets you download messages from Gmail's servers onto your computer so you can access your mail with a program like Microsoft Outlook Express or Netscape Mail, even when you aren't connected to the Internet. Learn more.
With auto-forwarding, you can redirect some or all of your messages to another email address, automatically. Auto-forwarding is different from POP access because you need to sign in to another email address to access the Gmail messages you've redirected. Learn more.