Browser Gmail vs Mail.app
June 12, 2008
Now that we’ve got our own offices, and I’m free of the super restricted corporate firewall we we’re previously (and kindly) bludgeoning off, I was really excited at the prospect of using GMail’s IMAP capabilities and finally being able to use Mail.app.
One word. Disappointed.
Pluses for IMAP and using Mail.app:
- I can work offline
- Creating mail is faster
- I can haz decent signatures
Pluses for staying with the GMail web browser:
- it’s instant
- I can easily tag (Google call this “label”) messages
- no mucking about with syncing
- it’s not restricted by IMAP locked down firewalls
- great search functionality across my whole mailbox
I have tried and tried and tried and tried to persevere with Mail.app and IMAP, but no matter how hard I try I still gravitate back towards browser based Gmail.
Am I missing something here?
Are there some uber-tips and uber-features I just haven’t seen?
At this stage, Gmail through the web browser wins hands down.
Posts
June 13, 2008 at 1:14 am
I thought about doing the same, and the offline-ness was the only thing which won for me – but to be honest, I’m ALWAYS close enough to an internet connection to be able to use it. If I need to compose something, textmate or textedit works just fine.
gmail just works for me. No need to change.
June 13, 2008 at 7:36 am
I’m with both Dan and Nic – I imap my Gmail but never use it. (fact is Outlook is only there as a go between to allow syncing from my symbian phone to gcal.
Gears for gmail will have it all sorted soon anyway…
June 13, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I believe that makes it 3-0.
Bring on Gears.
July 18, 2008 at 3:54 am
I love gmail. I am using it in an SSB thanks to the wonders of http://fluidapp.com/ until Gears arrives….
April 16, 2009 at 1:57 am
My fellow on Facebook shared this link with me and I’m not dissapointed at all that I came here.
April 28, 2009 at 7:19 am
Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog…
June 3, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Lots of discussion on this, and many usability points on Mail.app vs. GMail here.
Upshot: I came to exactly the opposite conclusion, and reader comments were roughly split, with the majority coming down on the side of Mail.app.