Gmail application won't receive mail until you refresh

Just a little pet hate with Gmail. I am not sure why when you load up Gmail, it asks for what type of internet connection you would like to use. You would think that after telling the phone what connection you want, it would immediately retrieve emails. However, it seems that on the Nokia E63, E71 and E72, the same problem is that you need to go to OPTIONS -> Refresh before any emails come through. Can't the emails just come through when you load the application? Would that be too much to ask? or is it a feature? What do you think?