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Google Launches Native Gmail App For iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Faces Instant Backlash

Sarah Perez

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Sarah currently works as a writer for TechCrunch, after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to becoming a professional blogger, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software. → Learn More

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
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Google is launching a new native Gmail application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch today, which is now available in the iTunes App Store. As recently revealed by TechCrunch writer MG Siegler on his personal blog, one of the app’s most important features is its ability to do push notifications. The app will also include search, autocomplete, support for attachments, priority inbox access, labels and other standard email features like archiving, deleting and reporting spam.

For many, the new app should be an improvement over the already available Web-based application for Gmail because of its support for push notifications – something that the iPhone itself can’t do for Gmail without hacking it to work through Exchange. That alone may be reason to switch.

UPDATE: Ugh! According to early reviews (and tons of Twitter complaints), the push notifications feature is broken and the app doesn’t support multiple accounts. C’mon Google, get it together. 

Priority inbox is also accessible in the new app, as you can swipe to the right to reveal the list of folders in an interface that looks inspired by (copied from?) Facebook’s recent iPhone/iPad app update.

On the iPad, Gmail’s app includes a split pane view, like Apple’s own mail app, but with Gmail’s own take on threaded conversations:

Via Google’s official blog post, the complete list of features for the new app includes the following:

  • 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
  • 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, labeling, starring, deleting and reporting spam
  • 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
The app is available here in iTunes and works on iOS4 and up.

Crunchbase

Company: Google
Website: google.com
Launch Date: September 7, 1998
IPO: NASDAQ:GOOG

Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...

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Product: Gmail
Website: gmail.com
Company Google

Gmail, also known as Google Mail, is a free email service provided by Google which has innovative features such as “conversation view” email threads, search-oriented interface, and plenty of free storage (almost 7.7GB). Gmail opened in private beta mode in April 2004 by invitation only. At first, invites were hard to come by and were spotted up for sale on auction sites like eBay. The email service is now open to everyone and is part of Google Apps. ...

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