I believe you are looking at it in the wrong light..... i have no experience with handcent but i think it goes back to how your friend is actually sending the pic. If she is doing it from a phone then she should have the option to send via mms, email, and a slew of other sharing options.....
If it is going to your email then friend is no doubt sending the pic via email
(dont think this matters but you DO have a gmail email setup on phone, every android phone requires one to work and access the market) LOL