Official Gmail Blog
News, tips and tricks from Google's Gmail team and friends.
Gmail app for iOS available in the App Store (again)
November 16, 2011
Posted by Matthew Izatt, Product Manager
Two weeks ago, we introduced our Gmail app for iOS. Unfortunately it contained a bug which broke notifications and displayed an error message, so we removed it from the App Store. We’ve fixed the bug and notifications are now working, and the app is back in the App Store. For an overview of what’s available in the
Gmail app for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
, check out this
blog post
.
In the short time the app was public we received a lot of helpful feedback and feature requests. This included requests for everything from bigger features like multiple account support to customizations like
improved notifications
and mobile specific signatures.
We’re just getting started with the Gmail app for iOS and will be iterating rapidly to bring you more features, including all the ones listed above plus many more. Based on your comments we have already improved our handling of image HTML messages - they are now sized to fit to the screen and you can pinch to zoom in.
To try out the Gmail app today, install it from
App Store
on any iOS 4+ device. Those who already have the Gmail app released Nov 2 must uninstall or log out of the old app prior to installing the new app.
Introducing the Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
November 2, 2011
Posted by Matthew Izatt, Product Manager
Waiting. Walking. Watching TV. Working out. Winding down. Waking up. We check email pretty much everywhere these days. And when we do, we want easy access to our important messages so we can respond quickly and get back to life -- or slinging birds at thieving green pigs.
With that in mind, we’ve created
a new Gmail app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
. We’ve combined your favorite features from the Gmail mobile web app and iOS into one app so you can be more productive on the go. It’s designed to be fast, efficient and take full advantage of the touchscreen and notification capabilities of your device. And it’s one more reason to
switch to Gmail
.
Speed
We want to give you the information you need quickly, with minimal effort and distraction. So we’ve included some time-saving features:
Get alerted to new messages with push notifications and sounds
Find an email in seconds with search across your entire inbox
Autocomplete email addresses from your Gmail contacts or select from your device’s address book
Upload photos with a click using the new attachment button in compose view
On iPad, navigate your inbox and read your mail simultaneously with split view
Upload photos
Reply, move, label and more
Efficiency
Our inboxes overflow with dozens and even hundreds of messages a day—and this can be even more challenging on a smaller screen. The new Gmail app helps organize your mail so you don’t have to go wading through your inbox to find that key message from your boss or loved one:
Focus on your important messages first with Priority Inbox
Quickly scan countless emails on the same subject with threaded conversations
Organize your mail by archiving, labelling, starring, deleting and reporting spam
Threaded conversations on the iPad
Touch
We’ve also optimized the interface so you can perform common actions in Gmail with the lightest touch:
Pull down your inbox to rapidly refresh if you’re eager for new mail
Swipe right to view your labels without ever leaving your inbox
Swiftly scroll through dozens of emails just by sliding your finger
Pull down to refresh
Swipe right to view labels
We hope the Gmail app makes checking email on the go a little easier. It is available in the
App Store
today and works on all devices running iOS 4+. For more information, check out our
help center
.
Update: 11/16/11 On 11/2 we launched a new Gmail app for iOS but after finding a bug removed the app from the App Store. Starting today, the Gmail app is now
available again
.
Introducing multiple sign-in and preferences on Gmail for mobile
September 21, 2011
Posted by Posted by Dominic Leung, Mobile Software Engineer
The Gmail for mobile team works hard to bring you features that make you more productive on the go. Today, we will highlight some new features for Gmail in your mobile browser.
Multiple sign-in support
Just like on your desktop, you can now to sign into multiple accounts simultaneously. To sign into an additional account, click on the account switcher at the bottom of the threadlist, then click ”Sign into an another account.” You can quickly switch between accounts by selecting the desired account from the Accounts menu.
Mobile-specific signature
We know that autocorrect and other mobile spell-checks can be frustrating as you are typing on the go. Let your friends know that you are responding via your mobile phone so that they understand why you might have sent a message that you are meeting for "monitors" and not "mojitos". It's an easy way to make them understand why your message might be short or have a few typos. To create a mobile signature, from the menu view, press the new settings icon,
choose your signature, and then check the box that tells us you want to activate it. If you ever want to disable the mobile signature, you can uncheck the box and we will use your desktop signature instead.
Vacation Auto-Responder
Ever forgotten to set your out-of-office auto-reply in Gmail before going on a trip? You don’t have to worry about that anymore, since you can now set your auto-reply using the mobile interface. Simply choose a start and end date and specify your message, just like on the desktop interface.
As part of added multiple sign-in support, we’ve updated URLs so that each account can have a separate bookmark. For those who have previously bookmarked Gmail for Mobile, please update your
bookmark
. If you haven’t, now is a great time to head to
mail.google.com
on your smartphone or tablet browser and
add a bookmark
to your home screen.
Undo certain Gmail actions in your mobile browser
April 18, 2011
Posted by Bryan Logan, Software Engineer
(Cross-posted from the
Google Mobile blog
)
Sometimes when I’m using Gmail on my phone, I delete a message by mistake or label it incorrectly. Sure I can fish the message out of my Trash or remove the label and apply the correct one, but that takes several steps. Even just a few seconds is usually enough time to catch those annoying mistakes.
Now when you use the Gmail mobile web app, you’ll have a small window of opportunity to undo four key actions: archive, delete, add or remove a label, or move a message/conversation.
When you take one of these actions, Gmail displays a yellow bar that recaps what you just did and allows you to undo it:
This bar stays in position even if you move to another screen (e.g. moving to ‘Menu’ from ‘Inbox’). If you don’t happen to catch your mistake in time, not to worry: all four actions can still be undone through other means (e.g. you can move a message from Trash back into your Inbox).
Try it out at
gmail.com
in the browser of your Android or iOS device.
Update (10:00 am, 4/19/11
): This update is available for phones running Android or iOS, but not tablet devices with the two-pane Gmail interface. It is also now available for BlackBerry OS 6.0 phones.
New connection bar in Gmail for iPhone
March 16, 2011
Posted by Kenneth Kwan, Software Engineer
Using Gmail in Safari on your iPhone gives you access to fast search, conversation view, stars, labels, and more. But it’s sometimes frustrating not knowing whether your email has been sent or whether your phone has a functioning internet connection at all. To address this, we recently introduced the “connection bar.” The connection bar appears at the bottom of the screen when needed to give you the info you want— and then gets out of the way.
The connection bar appears when the app launches and is checking for new mail:
It also appears when your phone is offline, back online and sending, and then again when it finishes sending all messages:
You can see this improvement by visiting
gmail.com
from your iPhone or iPod Touch’s browser (iOS4 only). Don’t see the new changes yet? Try
clearing your cache
and refreshing the page. And if you like using Gmail in mobile Safari, get to it faster by tapping the “+” at the bottom of the screen and then “Add to Home Screen.”
Priority Inbox in Gmail for mobile
February 7, 2011
Posted by Nathan Bullock, Software Engineer
(Cross-posted from the
Mobile blog
)
If you’ve ever cursed a phone’s tiny screen as utterly inadequate for sifting through an overflowing inbox you’ll be pleased to hear that the Gmail mobile web app now supports
Priority Inbox
. Priority Inbox
helps combat information overload
by automatically identifying your important messages so you can focus on those first. Until today it was only available on the
desktop
and
Android devices
.
Now, once you
set up Priority Inbox
in the desktop version of Gmail, you’ll see Priority Inbox sections when you visit gmail.com from your phone’s browser and click on the ‘Menu’ screen. You’ll also see importance markers in your inbox, so you can quickly identify which messages are important.
This feature is available for most mobile browsers that support HTML5, such as devices running Android 1.5+ and iOS 3+. If you have suggestions or want to learn more, visit our
Help Center and forum
.
Print from your phone with Gmail for mobile and Google Cloud Print
January 24, 2011
Posted by Tyler Odean, Google Cloud Print Team
Let’s say you need to print an important email attachment on your way to work so that it’s waiting for you when you walk in the door. With Gmail for mobile and Google Cloud Print — a service that allows printing from any app on any device, OS or browser without the need to install drivers — you can.
To get started, you’ll first need to
connect your printer to Google Cloud Print
. For now, this step requires a Windows PC but Linux and Mac support are coming soon. Once you’re set up, just go to
gmail.com
from your iPhone or Android browser and choose “Print” from the dropdown menu in the top right corner. You can also print eligible email attachments (such as .pdf or .doc) by clicking the “Print” link that appears next to them.
We’re rolling this feature out in U.S. English over the next few days, so if you don’t see it right away please check back. In the meantime, you can learn more in the
Google Cloud Print help center
.
Gmail web app for iPhone and Android in 44 more languages
December 13, 2010
Posted by David Yonge-Mallo, Software Engineer
Last year, we
launched a new mobile Gmail experience
for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Since then, those of us who use Gmail in English could go to gmail.com from our mobile browsers and get most of the same features we’re used to in the desktop version of Gmail — including search, stars, labels, and threaded conversations.
Starting today, this updated version of Gmail for mobile is now available in 44 new languages. Check out the
mobile blog
for the complete list of languages and more info.
Gmail for Android: better Priority Inbox support and improved compose
December 9, 2010
Posted by Paul Westbrook, Gmail for Android team
(Cross posted from the
Mobile blog
)
When we first
released Gmail in Android Market back in September
, we said that you’d be getting new stuff faster, and we meant it. After getting thousands of comments on that release, we made a bunch of updates based on your feedback and today we’re launching Gmail for Android 2.3.2.
Priority Inbox
First of all, you told us that you love
Priority Inbox
and expect much better support for it on your phone. Now you can see important messages in a new Priority Inbox view.
This view includes all important messages in your inbox, regardless of whether you’ve read them or not. You can archive and delete conversations or mark them unimportant from there. You’ll notice the importance markers
you’re used to seeing in the desktop version of Gmail, and you can also change a conversation’s importance using the menu. To switch between inboxes or labels, try tapping on the current label.
Ever wanted to know that you got an important message without taking your phone out of your pocket? Now you can set up your phone to notify, vibrate, or ring on just your new important mail (check out Menu > Settings > Priority Inbox).
While Priority Inbox on your Android phone doesn’t have all the features offered in the desktop version of Gmail, we think this is a good start and plan to add even more functionality moving forward.
Improved Compose
Since our last Market update, we adopted a few features related to composing messages from the desktop version of Gmail. Many of you asked for a better way to switch between replying to the sender to replying to all. Now, you can easily switch between reply, reply all, and forward while composing your response.
If you moved to Gmail from another webmail provider and want to continue to send email from that address, now you can
send from any address you’ve configured
in the desktop version of Gmail.
In addition, you can now respond to messages in-line.
You won’t need to wait for Gingerbread to get these updates. This version of the Gmail app works for Android 2.2 (Froyo) and newer releases in
most countries
. (Not sure if your device is running the right version?
Check here
.) Get the update from Android Market (just scan the QR code below, or
click here
if you're on a phone) and check out the new Gmail. And don’t forget to send us your feedback from within the new version of the app (from your Inbox: Menu > More > About > Feedback).
Gmail in mobile Safari: now even more like a native app
October 27, 2010
Posted by Brett Lider, User Experience Designer
(Cross-posted from the
Mobile blog
)
Go to
gmail.com
from your iPhone and you’ll notice two improvements we’ve rolled out over the past few weeks. First, scrolling is snappier: the speed of scrolling reflects the speed of your swipe gesture. This is helpful for long conversations where a few quick flicks will get you to the information you need much faster than before. Second, the toolbars stay on screen while you’re scrolling rather than moving down into view
after
each scroll. Being able to access your toolbars from any point on the page should make it easier to triage your email and move around the app.
If you use Gmail in your mobile browser a lot, you may have noticed that we recently tried several different variations of these buttons. We‘ve iterated on the design and made improvements based on your feedback. If you have more suggestions, please post them in our
forum
or, if you use Twitter, mention #gmailmobile and we'll take a look. If you’re a developer and are interested in learning about the Javascript and HTML techniques we used to do this, we’ll post an article to
code.google.com/mobile
in the coming weeks.
You can see these improvements by visiting gmail.com from the browser of iPhone and iPod touch devices running iOS4 (English-only for now). And if you like Gmail in mobile Safari, make getting to it easier by tapping the “+” at the bottom of the screen and then “Add to Home Screen.” (Don’t see the new changes yet? Try
clearing your cache
and refreshing the page.)
Updated Gmail app in Android Market
September 21, 2010
Posted by Simon Arscott and Paul Westbrook, Gmail for Android team
(Cross-posted from the
Mobile Blog
)
We just released a new version of the Gmail app in Android Market, so Gmail updates aren’t tied to Android version releases anymore. Now you can get new Gmail stuff faster without having to wait for system updates. To start you off, we’ve improved message replies, access to quoted text, and more.
As you scroll through a conversation, your most important message actions will now stick to the top of the screen, one click away, no matter how long the email is.
Don't remember what prompted the most recent email in a thread? Now you can view previous message content more easily, just like in the desktop version of Gmail. Tap “Show quoted text” to reveal the previous message.
Finally, this updated version of the Gmail app has limited support for
Priority Inbox
. If you’ve enabled Priority Inbox via the desktop version of Gmail, you’ll see an “Important” label that shows all messages flagged as important. You can even add a shortcut to “Important” to your home screen.
The Gmail update requires Froyo (Android version 2.2), so it’s available if you have a Nexus One, HTC EVO, Motorola Droid 2 or Motorola Droid. (Not sure if your device is running Android version 2.2?
Check here
.)
Get the update from Android Market (just scan the QR code below, or
click here
if you're on a phone) and check out the new Gmail. We’d love to hear what you think at android-apps-support@google.com.
Update 9/21/10 12:26pm PDT: There is a known issue where the headers don't stick properly on some HTC phones like the EVO 4G and Droid Incredible. We are working to address this.
Gmail on the iPad
April 3, 2010
Posted by Alex Nicolaou, Engineering Manager
When the iPhone and Android devices came out, we started building for advanced mobile browsers and optimizing the Gmail interface for touchscreens, culminating in the
Gmail for mobile
HTML5 web app. As portable devices continue to evolve, we're excited about the upcoming wave of tablet computers and the possibilities they bring.
With today's release of the iPad, we're launching an experimental two-pane user interface to take advantage of its large touchscreen and tablet form factor. Building upon the Gmail for mobile web app, this new interface displays your conversations on the left and your messages on the right hand side.
All the features of the Gmail web app that you're used to, such as offline access and aggressive caching to reduce latency, are present in the iPad version. Tablet devices are still very new, so expect changes as we continue to optimize for this new format. We'd like to hear any ideas you may have on how we can make Gmail better for the iPad so don't hesitate to let us know via the 'Send feedback' link at the bottom of your inbox on iPad.
To try out Gmail out on the iPad, just go to
gmail.com
in Safari. For quick access, try creating a
homescreen link
. Please note that the new interface is only available in US English for now. You can always access Gmail through the
native Mail application using IMAP
as well.
Gmail on Nexus One
January 5, 2010
Posted by Anna de Paula Hanika, Android Product Marketing Manager
Not only does the
just-announced Nexus One
have a beautiful display, snappy processor, and five megapixel camera complete with flash and geotagging, but you can also buy it online with or without a service plan. Plus, it runs Android 2.1, which adds a couple of new features to the native Gmail application:
Quick contact badge: Press the contact status icon within Gmail, and a handy box shows all of the ways you can reply to a contact — including email, chat, SMS, and Facebook.
Voice input: Swipe the keyboard, then just speak to select contacts or write an email, complete with punctuation. Period!
Nexus One also features the Gmail updates of Android 2.0, including:
Multiple Gmail accounts: Sync multiple accounts to the same device and switch between them without leaving the app.
Undo: A handy 'undo' link makes it easier to retrieve messages when you hit archive or delete by mistake. (Note: you can't yet
undo send
as you can with the desktop version of Gmail).
For more information on Nexus One visit
google.com/phone
. To learn more about Gmail on this and other Android devices, check out the
Gmail page
on mobile.google.com/android, or watch this video:
Getting Gmail on your phone
October 12, 2009
Posted by Shyam Seth, Product Manager, Google Mobile
Checking Gmail on your phone isn't reserved for those of us with extra fancy mobile devices — sure, it's easier to use Gmail when your iPhone has a
touchscreen
or there's a
downloadable app built especially for your BlackBerry
, but Gmail is available on almost all mobile devices today. If your phone has a data plan, it can get Gmail. There are two main ways to check your messages on the go:
(1) Go to gmail.com in your mobile browser
The easiest way to check Gmail from your phone is to go to gmail.com in your device's mobile browser. That opens a version of Gmail built especially for small screens, where you can see messages grouped into conversations, search through your mail, or flag important messages with stars. On some devices (iPhone and Android), Gmail offers some additional features like the ability to add and remove labels and basic offline support.
Text the link to your phone
to get started.
(2) Use your phone's built in email application
Many mobile devices come with native mail applications pre-installed. Setting up Gmail to work with them is usually pretty straight-forward and there is often a wizard to help. If you have an iPhone or Windows Mobile device, you can get
push Gmail using Google Sync
. Otherwise, you can set things up using IMAP with these
step-by-step directions for specific devices
. Depending on your particular phone, you may notice features such as search, conversations, and stars missing. On the plus side, these applications tend to start up quickly and work even when you're not connected to the internet.
For more information, check out this new
beginner's guide
.
Push Gmail for iPhone and Windows Mobile
September 22, 2009
Posted by Marcus Foster, Product Manager, Google Mobile
Those of you who live in your Gmail inboxes usually want to know what's happening with your email more instantly than standard fetch mail on your phone allows. Sure, using Gmail in your mobile browser gives you all the benefits of conversation threading and starring, but you still have to refresh every time you want to check for new mail.
When we
launched Google Sync
for Contacts and Google Calendar earlier this year, an over-the-air, always-on connection to sync mail was noticeably absent. We heard
your
requests
loud and clear, and starting today you can use
Google Sync
to get your Gmail messages pushed directly to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Windows Mobile device.
You can set up push Gmail by itself or choose to sync your Contacts and/or Calendar as well. If you're using an iPhone, make sure you're running iPhone OS version 3.0 or above (on your device, click Settings > General > About and scroll down until you see Version). If your software is out of date, follow
Apple's upgrade instructions
. Then, visit
m.google.com/sync
from your computer for set up instructions. If you're already using Google Sync, you can just enable push mail.
Once you're set up, new messages are normally pushed to your phone within seconds. While this type of speed is pretty awesome, push connections tend to use more power than fetching at intervals, so don't be surprised if your battery life isn't quite what it used to be. We've done a lot of work to optimize power usage, but if you prefer to save battery life, you can always turn off push in your phone's settings and fetch mail every 30 or 60 minutes instead.
A new mobile Gmail experience for iPhone and Android
April 7, 2009
Posted by Rob Kroeger, Engineer, Google Mobile
Today we're introducing a major revision to Gmail for mobile that takes advantage of the latest browser technology available on iPhone and Android devices. We've updated the user interface, made it faster to open messages, allowed for batch actions (like archiving multiple messages at once), and added some basic offline support
Despite the advent of 3G networks and wifi, smartphones still lack a high-speed, always-on broadband connection and can have connections far less reliable than their desktop brethren. So, just like when we
redesigned the Gmail for mobile client app
last October, we've gone back to the drawing board and redesigned Gmail for the mobile browser to overcome some of these limitations. We made performance more consistent, regardless of connection type, and laid the foundation for future improvements.
Now, when you go to gmail.com from your iPhone or Android browser, archiving email is quicker because it doesn't require a response from a remote server. Instead, we cache mail on the device itself (using
database storage
on the iPhone and a device-local mobile Gears database on Android-powered phones). Actions like archiving or starring messages are first applied to this cache and then sent to Gmail servers in the background whenever a network connection is available. You only have to wait for a response from the server when you're requesting an uncached message or list of messages. As a result, you can start-up Gmail even if you're on a slow connection. You can even compose mail and open recently read messages while offline.
We made extensive use of other browser functions too: for example, the floaty bar that lets you archive, delete or apply more actions is animated via CSS transformations and controlled in part with touch events (when you scroll the screen, it follows you).
The HTML5 canvas tag is used to render the progress spinner without the overhead of downloading animated GIFs to the device. Now that we've developed a framework for the new Gmail for mobile, we're planning a whole lot more: faster performance, improved offline operation, new functionality, and interface enhancements that take advantage of the unique properties of smartphones.
To try this new version of Gmail for mobile, just go to
gmail.com
from your mobile browser. It's currently available on any Android-powered devices or iPhone OS 2.2.1 or higher. For now, the new version is available in English only. We'll be rolling this version out to everyone over the course of the day, so if you don't see the updated user interface yet (you'll know you have it when you see that floaty bar), check back soon. For easy access, we recommend creating a
homescreen link
.
Sync your contacts and calendar with your phone
February 9, 2009
Posted by Marcus Foster, Product Manager, Google Mobile
I'm not the most organized person in the world and that's especially true when it comes to my address book and calendar. My contacts are scattered all over the place: in my phone, in my Gmail account, on the back of business cards and even in a veritable little black book.
We're making staying organized a little easier with a beta version of
Google Sync
for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones as well as a contacts-only version for
many other devices
. Sync uses push technology (Microsoft ActiveSync©) to automatically synchronize your Gmail contacts (using the 'My Contacts' group within Gmail) and/or your Google Calendar events in the background.
Your phone will sync using the your "My Contacts" group within Gmail. Here are some tips for cleaning up that group so it's exactly the people you want to sync, and some
big caveats
to be aware of in this beta release:
iPhone users:
Google Sync will remove all existing contacts and calendar events from your phone, so make sure to back up (
PC instructions
,
Mac instructions
) your data before you set it up.
Remove contacts that you don't want to sync to your phone. From the "My Contacts" section of the contact manager, select the contact you want to remove, click "Groups" and then "Remove from My Contacts."
Merge duplicates so friend@theirgmailaddress.com and samefriend@theirworkaddress.com both belong to the same contact. To do so, select both contacts, and click "Merge these 2 contacts."
When you merge contacts, your address
auto-complete
won't work as well as before.
We're working on a fix for this, but until that's out you might notice addresses showing up in a suboptimal order in auto-complete, e.g. your friend's work address coming up first when you're used to emailing their Gmail address.
Once you set up Sync, changes you make to your calendar or contacts are reflected on your device within minutes since the connection is over-the-air and always on. And it's two way, so your calendar and contacts are always up-to-date, no matter whether you make changes on your phone or from your browser. Also, since your information is automatically backed up to your Google account, it's securely stored even if you accidentally drop your phone in the pool. Getting your address book and calendar to a new phone is as easy as setting up Sync again.
If you have an
iPhone
,
Windows Mobile device
, or a
BlackBerry
, you can choose to sync both your contacts and calendar, or just one of the two. For
devices that support the open SyncML protocol
, Google Sync will sync your contacts, but not your calendar.
Try Sync out by visiting
m.google.com/sync
or visit our
Help Center
to review device specific instructions.
Tip: Archive mail on your iPhone
January 13, 2009
Posted by Arielle Reinstein, Gmail Product Marketing Manager
Update 8/2/2010
: If you're using iPhone OS 4 or newer, archiving in Gmail will work once you go through the standard mail set up — no need to follow these instructions.
Pretty much everyone with an iPhone and a Gmail account has a preference for how to use the two together. Some people prefer the iPhone's built-in email client -- it's fast, syncs everything via
IMAP
, and works like the rest of the device. Others, myself included, can't live without
search
and
threaded conversations
and prefer to bring up Gmail in the browser. And a few people, for whom this tip is geared, read their mail via the client but switch to the browser-based version to clean out their inboxes so they can easily
archive rather than delete
.
See, the default Gmail set up for iPhone's built-in mail client configures things such that if you delete a message on your iPhone, it's sent to Gmail's Trash. That means in 30 days it's gone forever. Sure, you can archive by clicking the "Move to" button and then selecting "All Mail," but if you're an archive junkie and want mail you delete on your iPhone to get archived in Gmail instead, you just have to re-do the Gmail set up on your phone.
First, get rid of your default set up. Go to
Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar
. Find your Gmail account under "Accounts," click on it, scroll to the bottom, and click "Delete Account." Don't worry -- it'll be back and better than ever in a sec.
Then manually configure IMAP using the "Other" menu option by following the instructions this video (also available in the
Gmail Help Center
):
From then on, the iPhone's little trashcan icon will archive your mail. You might notice that messages you archive on your phone are actually being added to a new "Deleted Messages" label in your Gmail account -- but they're right in "All Mail" and searchable, just the way you want them.
Gmail for mobile: faster, smoother, and now in more languages
October 23, 2008
Posted by Peter Baldwin, Software Engineer, Google mobile team
When I joined the Gmail for mobile team a year ago, the mobile client worked like a web application designed for networks that were always available. This was fine on a fast and reliable network, but when you hopped on the subway, network reliability could be a big problem. Today, we're happy to announce Gmail for mobile 2.0 for J2ME-supported and BlackBerry phones. For this version, we changed our fundamental assumption about the network. We re-thought every action that you might perform with the app and tried to solve for the case where there is no signal. We wanted to make the mobile client faster and more reliable and added some other new features along the way.
If you haven't tried Gmail on your phone in a while, try this new version and
let us know
what you think. Gmail for mobile 2.0 is designed to be more reliable in low signal areas and provides basic offline support for phones like the Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson W910i, and BlackBerry Curve. You can now log into multiple accounts (including both Gmail and Google Apps email accounts) at the same time. Switching between them is as easy as a few button clicks or just hitting
+ j on phones that have a QWERTY keyboard. We've also added support for multiple mobile drafts, undo (using the menu or the z shortcut), and sending mail in the background (no more staring at the "Sending..." dialog until it finally gets sent). Be sure to check the help page from Gmail for mobile's main menu for a list of all keyboard shortcuts.
To download Gmail for mobile version 2.0, just go to
m.google.com/mail
in your mobile browser.
Parlez-vous français? ¿Habla usted español? Gmail for mobile 2.0 supports over
35 languages
, and the application language will automatically match your phone's language setting.
A sneak peek at Gmail on Android
October 17, 2008
Posted by Jonathan Matus, Product Marketing Manager, Android
The first Android-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1, is coming out on Wednesday. My friends know that I work on Android, and as you can imagine, I get asked about it all the time. I have a lot to say about the G1, but I always begin by telling them that lots of Google products, including Gmail, are available for free, on
several mobile devices
.
I've been using Gmail on the go for more than a year now and it's difficult to imagine my life without ubiquitous email access. It proves handy every day -- whether for keeping a close eye on a (very) busy inbox, finding the address of a party while already in the taxi, or sending out a spontaneous dinner plan while on the bus back home.
If you like using Gmail on your computer you'll feel very much at ease with Gmail on Android-powered phones. You can download documents and MP3s, manage and view labels, star and archive messages, save drafts and even report spam.
I check my email frequently and have two Gmail accounts -- one for work and one for personal life. Before I started using Gmail on the T-Mobile G1, I used to check my mail by actively reloading or refreshing my inbox on one of my other mobile devices. And with two email accounts, I had to repeat this twice each time.
Not anymore. With the combination of push email and notifications on the status-bar, I never have to check for new mail. Whenever a new message arrives, I immediately get notified (in real time) with a little "@" sign at the top (see image below on the left). With a single swipe I can pull down the notification pane and see my new messages (on the right).
But the best thing, in my mind, about Gmail on Android-powered phones, is the way email is deeply integrated with other applications. For instance, let's say I'm browsing the web, reading my favorite tech blog. When I come across a post that I'd like to share, I can simply press and hold my finger down on the link and then choose "share" to immediately create an email with that article's web address. The tight integration with Contacts on the device then allows Gmail to suggest contacts based on the first letters I type.
All of your Gmail contacts are immediately available on the phone upon first log-in. And whenever you create a new contact on the device it's automatically synced with your Gmail contacts and therefore immediately backed-up, so you never need to worry about losing your contacts if you lose or break your phone.
To learn more about Gmail on the world's first Android-powered phone, check out our
Mobile blog post
, the
Gmail page
on mobile.google.com/android, or watch this instructional video:
Labels
buzz
calendar
Gmail Blog
Google Apps Blog
Google Calendar
googlenew
Inbox
Inbox by Gmail
labs
mobile
Offline
reader
tasks
tip
Archive
2016
Sep
Aug
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Feed
Google
on
Follow @gmail
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forum
.
Get posts via email
Email:
Powered by
Google Groups
Useful Links
About Gmail
Gmail for Mobile
Gmail for Work
Follow