[Google] Offline Gmail

When Google first launched Google Gears, it was a pretty exciting product - a way to address the reliance on the internet for all web applications at the time. The initial kick-off with Google Gears was certainly promising and soon other providers decided to follow suit. Initially it seemed like other providers like Zoho were taking better advantage of Google Gears by providing offline access for their web applications but in time Google started to catch up by enabling it in Google Docs (albeit, to a limited degree) but that didn't stop the clamor for offline access in one of their most famous web applications - Gmail.

Finally, it seems that Google engineers have heeded the call with the announcement of offline access for Gmail as a Gmail Labs feature. Like all Labs-realated announcements, it'll take some time before all users (especially ones outside the US like me) get access to his new feature but I'm willing to wait a little more. Given the quality of my internet connection as of late, having offline access to my Gmail account even just when my internet connection is acting up a bit without fully disconnecting is a god send and I'm really excited.

Actual reviews of the new service to follow once I've had a chance to test it out.


Offline Gmail (in Gmail Labs)