I already published a small introduction to this app a few days ago (thanks to iPhoneFreak for the initial news!), but now I’m ready to share all of iThoughts on iGmail for iPhone. I think.
Full Screen Gmail Power!
There are quite a few Gmail apps out there already (PushGmail is a recent fave), but I do like what iGmail really brings to the table. First of all, it’s a full-screen app with some customization options. You can show the top status bar and the google apps bar as well, if you’d like to check your google calendar, google talk, or other such googly goodness from within the app.
Another huge difference is the double-sized text entry box when creating or replying to an e-mail. It’s a small touch that goes a long way, and it also makes it easier to two-finger scroll through the text-entry box.
Wait, did he say two-finger scrolling?
I did! I did say two-finger scrolling!
It actually took iGmail’s app description to turn me onto the fact, and even after that it took a little bit of practice for me to find out that this trick works in Safari mobile as well. Just take your two fingers within Gmail’s text entry box and swipe them up and down. The action isn’t smooth (it acts more like a page up, page down function), but at least it exists. It’s also a heckuvalot easier than nudging the view area up line by line with the input cursor.
Transparent Controls, In-App Browser
One thing that a full-screen Gmail app sacrifices is the navigation toolbar at the bottom of Safari mobile. Fortunately, iGmail features a set of great transparent controls that you can hide with a tap of the blue button at the bottom of the screen. You can scroll to the top or bottom of the page, navigate to the previous or next message, or go back one page. You’ll need the back button for browsing any links you might receive in e-mails.
iGmail is in the details
There are a few other minor features that really make this app worthwhile. The accelerometer is locked on the right side, so tilting left is the only way to go to landscape mode. I’d have preferred a toggle to choose which orientation to lock the app in, but this does the job just fine. You can also shake the whole iPhone to select or de-select all the messages in the folder for batch actions like archiving. Finally, iGmail saves your drafts automatically upon exit, so phone calls and other distractions won’t nuke your partially written e-mails. All you need to do to finish off a draft is reload iGmail, say yes to the “finish draft” prompt, and complete the draft from the comfort of the default Mail app with all of your previously written text copied right in.
Wait for 1.4
iGmail boasts that it includes full offline support, but that feature is actually bugged right now. Developer Idemfactor Solutions says that they’ve submitted update 1.4 for the app, which includes Gmail App account support as well as a fix for the offline mode bug. Rest assured, I’m eagerly awaiting this update to see if I want to continue using iGmail on a daily basis. Offline functionality may fix my main issue with the app, which is…
Argh! Stop reloading the whole UI on launch!
Because iGmail can’t stay loaded in the background like Safari can, it has to reload the whole Gmail interface every time you launch the app. This means that the app can actually take longer to load (3 seconds minimum, 5 seconds on average) than the Safari app with Gmail loaded in a tab. I swear this wasn’t the case when I first loaded the app, but after the first few days of use the loading time grew to around five seconds and stayed consistent. If the app could simply store some of the UI and just refresh the Inbox as needed on a launch, then the whole experience would probably be a lot faster. Until 1.4, however, I can’t say for sure.
Conclusion
I was really excited about iGmail when I first heard about it last week, and I actually still am. However, like all of the Gmail-related apps before it, I need it to be faster — and I’m hoping update 1.4 might be the ticket.
One other thing to note is that the app will probably need a partner in crime — something like PushGmail, Boxcar, or Mailtones — so that you’ll know when to load iGmail up. There aren’t any push notifications or badges built into the app, so you’ll need to think up your own app combo to notify you of new e-mails.
Other than that, I definitely think that iGmail provides the best desktop-like Gmail experience to be had on the iPhone to date. If you’re fine with the current five-second waiting time to load up your inbox, then pounce on this app like pan on a cake (that doesn’t even make sense, but it sounds delicious). However, if you’d like to make sure your $1.99 gets you the fastest Gmail experience possible, you can wait for our verdict on the upcoming 1.4 update.
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iGmail is available for $1.99 on the App Store.
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TAGS: browser, gmail
