Google Launches Gmail Offline
It’s about time. Google has officially rolled out Gmail Offline, allowing users to read and compose mail even while they’re not connected to the internet.
As detailed in the announcement today via the official Gmail blog, once you switch on Gmail Offline (as usual it’s in the labs tab under settings) Gmail uses Google Gears to download a local cache of your mail. When you’re connected to the web, Gmail works the same way it always has by making chit-chat with the Gmail servers. If you drop your connection, Gmail will switch to offline mode and use the information stored in the cache to allow you to keep doing all things Gmail. As soon as your signal comes back, all messaged saved to your outbox will be sent and you’ll be back in business with the Gmail servers.
This is something I’ve been waiting a long time. Working remotely is no picnic and those trans-Atlantic flights are a great time to answer emails and sort my inbox into something that resembles organized chaos.
Offline is being switched on for English UK and English U.S. users. If you don’t see it in Labs straight away, hold your horses and just chill for a bit -- you should see it over the next couple of days. Don’t forget to let us know what you think!
And just to be sure I wasn't mistaken I disconnected myself, sent several emails, and re-connected so that I could watch them be sent. One was to myself on another email account so I am quite confident that it works.
Call me old and set in my ways, but Gmail is the only email I can really stand to use on a daily basis. Anything Microsoft makes me think twice before using it, Yahoo always felt cheap to me; not to mention they remind me of the ask.com toolbar.
I agree. I find the clean, and clutter free interfaces that Google sticks to makes Gmail extremely appealing.
It is an email program not as if you are installing a new operating system. You try it out if you don't like it you don't use it.
I always used gmail until I downloaded Windows Live to give it a spin with Windows 7. I couldn't imagine going back. I used to have to forward my university email to my gmail account but now I just sync both of them and can view their inbox/outbox separately on the same page without worrying which email came from where. The user interface is, in my opinion at least, better on WLM than on gmail but that is up to the specific user.
There isn't much to lose from simply giving it a try because it is pretty feature rich, free to download, easy to setup with gmail accounts, and easy to uninstall if you don't like it.
Comparing a web based interface email and a downloadable client are two very different things...Any down loadable client should be able to browse and compose email offline...A fair comparison would be web based hotmail vs gmail...can it do it?
Actually, Yahoo does a much better job with Web 2.0 features in their web mail.
New information of any kind: The requirement was news to him.
Newsworthy material: “a public figure on a scale unimaginable in America; whatever he did was news” (James Atlas).
Number of Google users in december 2008 : 91.6 million
Around 91.6 million persons must be happy to have this news reported.