App Gmail review

Frances Edwards

We review App Gmail for the Apple iPhone. It's a handy tool for using your Gmail account with extenive features not available on Apple Mail

Published on Sep 4, 2009

It is the long term belief of Google that eventually there will be no mobile application stores and no programmes coded for specific smartphone operating systems, just web apps.

This radical standpoint is probably true, in fact it is something Apple initially tried with the iPhone before realising networks around the world simply weren't fast enough.

Consequently Apple launched the App Store and everything else is history. So could something that once failed to convince the public eventually reclaim its affections?

If the Google Gmail web app is anything to go by the answer is a resounding yes. In short the search giant's email client is better designed, better laid out and far more powerful than the iPhone's native email client.

Most fundamentally, the web app supports conversations - perhaps the most compelling reason for using Gmail in the first place.

For those unfamiliar with conversations, it is essentially the same principle that Apple applied to SMS messages: group them by sender rather than listing them one after another. Gmail does the same - grouping emails by topic and, of course, it did it first.

Another reason to love the Gmail web app is its true search capabilities. Unlike the iPhone's native client which - even with firmware 3.0 - can only search through senders, recipients and subject lines, the Gmail web app searches all folders and the content of every email.

Just like the full service, there is also support for starring emails, adding labels and shortcuts are provided to mobile friendly versions of Google Calendar and Google Docs. In addition, clever HTML5 integration brings the handy addition of floating toolbars and faster loading times since only new emails need to load when refreshed, not the whole web page.

All in all you'd think we're headed towards a glowing endorsement. Sadly we aren't because the Gmail web app is crippled by one fundamental flaw: convenience. The iPhone's native email client may be very basic but it can run in the background, opens almost immediately and can regularly check your email while you do other things.

By contrast the Gmail web app has to be loaded up in Safari - even creating a desktop shortcut only saves a few clicks. Consequently in the time you've waited for Gmail to load the iPhone's client has already downloaded your new email and you'll be reading through it. It's a terrible shame.

Ultimately the Gmail web app demonstrates exactly why an App Store was demanded in the first place: networks still aren't fast enough to eliminate their extra loading times and Apple has yet to allow any third party applications - let along web bases ones - to run in the background.

We hasten to add that none of these flaws are Google's fault and we're sure the platform-free nature of web apps will ultimately see them win through long term, but not just yet...