24 October 2008

Gmail Improves Mobile Experience
Gmail for Mobile Updated to Version 2.0

I have never been a huge fan of Java based applications on S60 devices, mainly due the poor user interface, general slowness, annoying pop-ups and this Gmail java client has done nothing to change my mind.

However if you have no problems with java software there is an major update for the Gmail mobile application.

They just rolled out version 2.0 for J2ME-supported phones and they claims that focus for this version was to make the experience faster and more reliable.

Tthe entire client is rearchitected to push all the processing to the background, greatly improve the client-side caching scheme and optimize every bottleneck piece of code we came across.

So, what does this all mean for you?

• Overall performance improvement: You should experience significant raw speed improvement, smoother scrolling, and no freezing.
• Multiple accounts management: If you have both a Gmail and Google Apps email account, you can easily switch between them quickly. You will no longer have to use two different mobile apps to access personal and work emails.
• Multiple mobile email drafts: You can save multiple email drafts in your mobile phone, so that you can pick and choose what you would like to send later.
• Powerful shortcut keys: If you have a QWERTY phone, you can use shortcut keys. Hit 'z' to undo, 'k' to go to a newer conversation, and 'j' to go to an older conversation. See Menu/Help in the app for more shortcuts.
• Basic offline support: Can't get a signal? Not a problem. You can compose and read your most recent emails even when there is no signal. Also, any outgoing messages will be saved in the outbox on your phone and sent automatically when you're back in coverage.