Mailbox for iOS gains native iPad compatibility
Mailbox, the Gmail-based iOS email client that encourages a tidy inbox, was updated on Wednesday with native support for Apple's iPad lineup.
Orchestra, Inc. announced its newly updated app in a concise post to its official blog. Mailbox is available as a free download on the App Store.
"You asked, we listened," the post reads. "Mailbox is now available for iPad, so you can swipe your way to inbox zero on all your iOS devices."
In addition to iPad support, version 1.3 of the http://appleinsider.com/l/?link=Mailbox app also includes bug fixes. The 12.9-megabyte download requires iOS 6.0 or later.
While users who previously attempted to use the software were required to wait for access, a month ago Mailbox became available to all when the reservation system was closed.
At the time it was said that the Mailbox service, which is currently only available to Gmail users, was delivering more than 100 million messages per day. Mailbox developers were confident it would be able to handle the influx of new users, and there have been no indications of downtime since the reservation system was removed.
Under the initial reservation system, Mailbox had filled more than 1 million reservations. The service was acquired by cloud storage giant Dropbox in March for between $50 million and $100 million.
Orchestra, Inc. announced its newly updated app in a concise post to its official blog. Mailbox is available as a free download on the App Store.
"You asked, we listened," the post reads. "Mailbox is now available for iPad, so you can swipe your way to inbox zero on all your iOS devices."
In addition to iPad support, version 1.3 of the http://appleinsider.com/l/?link=Mailbox app also includes bug fixes. The 12.9-megabyte download requires iOS 6.0 or later.
While users who previously attempted to use the software were required to wait for access, a month ago Mailbox became available to all when the reservation system was closed.
At the time it was said that the Mailbox service, which is currently only available to Gmail users, was delivering more than 100 million messages per day. Mailbox developers were confident it would be able to handle the influx of new users, and there have been no indications of downtime since the reservation system was removed.
Under the initial reservation system, Mailbox had filled more than 1 million reservations. The service was acquired by cloud storage giant Dropbox in March for between $50 million and $100 million.
Comments
Cool. This has genuinely changed the way I deal with my gmail. Lack of full iPad support has been annoying. Mac app next please?
Would be great if it could work for generic IMAP accounts too, and/or maybe an [email protected] offering? Maybe they could make @mailbox.com a paid for Pro account, to monetise the service? I could be tempted by that.
People talk about it like it's the holy grail. It's not. A person who has thousands of emails in their Inbox is no less organised or on the ball than someone with "Inbox Zero."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I will never understand why people think "Inbox Zero", is a good thing. It's a fad, a trend, and at the end of the day, just another way to organise your email.
People talk about it like it's the holy grail. It's not. A person who has thousands of emails in their Inbox is no less organised or on the ball than someone with "Inbox Zero."
Actually, they're probably more organized, since someone with a completely empty inbox probably threw away something important to get there. And if they didn't throw it away, they filed it in a folder they'll never read, and they'll never deal with it.
And even if you buy into an empty inbox being a good thing, this program is a horrible way to get there. You're giving a questionable company your email password, they get to read your mail. It's a HUGE security hole.
I use several email addresses for this issue, just don't have 'my spam account' on my iPhone nor iPad.
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I'm happy with the default software Apple puts on iOS. Who uses a 3rd party tool, and why?
Yes I agree, I prefer to stick with Apple software if at all possible. That said with Mail, I reiterate, I am baffled why iOS isn't cognizant of the junk filters created by the Mac account, I suspect it is a matter of more cloud integration being required and is coming soon. Once that's there I expect a swipe to mark as junk in a similar way we swipe to delete, maybe we swipe left to delete and right to mark as junk.
How long is the waitlist?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkVader
And even if you buy into an empty inbox being a good thing, this program is a horrible way to get there. You're giving a questionable company your email password, they get to read your mail. It's a HUGE security hole.
A questionable company? More questionable than Google?
I love it. To each his/her own. Have you tried it?
Hasn't been one for months, around the time Dropbox bought the company
Are you ok with Dropbox, though? You realize they bought the company who made mailbox, right?
Something tells me that Apple will update their app before Mailbox covers all services.
The way some folks deal with it yes, it's a fad. But if you are of the right mindset it can be a useful trick as its basically keeping you from procrastinating until your box fills up. If you look at your inbox everyday then you are trashing the sales crap you don't care about, replying to what needs replies, filing the stuff that is just receipts and so on. Yes sometimes you can't clear everything cause you need follow up info but hopefully you just asked for it so at least it's zero unread.
In a day and age where we email as much if not more than phone sometimes getting folks into the mindset of reading through every day is a tad vital since who knows what is getting missed by someone that doesn't read their email until once a week
Nope. We don't. We just need Apple to tweak the Mail App. Say setting up rules on the device that sync to the ones you can set on iCloud.com, making it easier to make and file to folders. Junk tagging that syncs to your Mac even.
On the folders issue I see two possible schemes, both of which could be easier than the current. One would be a labeling system that then creates/files to folders. Or even just sorts if that is your wish. Rather like how Mac Mail can either mark as suspected junk but leave in inbox or mail a new mailbox. The 'folders' would be subsets of your inbox and therefore sync everywhere. The other system would be to keep the current way although on the Mac side I feel they need to get it together so that all drafts, sent etc are together in the subset system at the top. For all services.
Also the mechanics of how you get to this stuff could be improved. You can already swipe to find the delete, how about adding the other organizing tools. You slide say right to left and a bar comes up with label/move, junk, delete. And a warning if you are messing with a thread not a single message. Perhaps they could even put the reply button on there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
Something tells me that Apple will update their app before Mailbox covers all services.
Apple seem to be reticent in using gestures within their apps though, and I (others may disagree) think that the gesture interface in Mailbox is the best thing about it. It's not that Inbox-Zero is a particularly superior form of email management, but if you do choose it as a method then Mailbox is a top class tool for achieving it.
I think Apple might be worried that using gestures would be alienating for users who are more comfortable with clearer ways of doing things - buttons labelled with functions. That's fine and worthy, but a little frustrating for users who are more comfortable with the technology and find flicking things to and fro a simpler, faster and more effective way.
I'm not trying to imply that I'm any kind of power user of email, I'm not, I think I'm probably in a middle ground of being app-literate and frustrated with too much simplicity. A low end pro-sumer sort of thing.
Apple might improve Mail, but I doubt it'll ever reach the ease of use that I find with Mailbox, because it's catering for a more casual consumer user base, while Mailbox is purposefully aiming at people who find that to not be enough.
I hope Mailbox do find a way of getting their service to work with iCloud and/or generic account though, but I think from what I've read that they're pretty closely entwined with Gmail's labels so it might not happen for a while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by allenbf
I love it. To each his/her own. Have you tried it?
I have no desire to "try it" because I don't agree with the basic premise.
I hope I wasn't too strident however. If it works for you that's great. My point was merely that it wasn't the "holy grail" of email as many think. It's just a way of organising that works for some but not for others, and that is currently popular.
I get frustrated over this issue because most tech forums and web sites are run by young-ish guys who gravitate towards both Gmail and Inbox zero so it's sort of endlessly "promoted" in a backhanded way in almost everything I read. The idea that it's the best way to go is presented as a sort of self-evident truth in many articles when it so clearly isn't anything of the sort.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
The way some folks deal with it yes, it's a fad. But if you are of the right mindset it can be a useful trick as its basically keeping you from procrastinating until your box fills up. If you look at your inbox everyday then you are trashing the sales crap you don't care about, replying to what needs replies, filing the stuff that is just receipts and so on. Yes sometimes you can't clear everything cause you need follow up info but hopefully you just asked for it so at least it's zero unread. ...
Well I think different methods work for different folks.
There are many different ways to handle email and if Inbox Zero theory works for you that's great.
Just to play devil's advocate here however, these are questions that arise in my mind in response to your description:
- why do "Inbox Zero" folks associate the non-empty Inbox with "procrastination"?
- why should I bother to "file receipts"?
- why should I bother to "trash the sales stuff"
- why do I need to "clear" anything?
My usual day I have a dozen or two emails waiting in the morning and I get maybe the same amount during my day. All I do is act on the emails in the morning I need to act on, and just reply immediately to all the others as the day goes on. If something is more involved I add it to my active projects list or I start a folder and stream all the relevant email to that folder. I've been doing this since the early days of email (before the web existed) and it works for me. I like keeping all the old stuff around, it doesn't take up any space, it's easily searchable, etc.
I find that usually about once every five years or so, something goes horribly wrong with a server or a computer somewhere and I lose all my backlog in the Inbox. Only then do I briefly have "Inbox Zero."