Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC

If you were thinking offline Gmail on your desktop was the greatest thing since sliced bread, prepare yourselves people. If an MWC keynote from Google's VP of engineering, Vic Gundotra, is any indication, the same functionality might be coming soon to an iPhone / Android phone near you. Amongst other things, the souped up web app boasts an overhauled interface, supports labels, and of course, offline access. Despite our own hunch that Google's just using black magic and voodoo to make this happen, Gundotra claims that it's all made possible through HTML5 standards -- AppCache being the biggie. This development certainly opens the doors to more offline-enabled web apps in the future -- Docs, anyone?. Of course, we know Apple has a thing about people messing with its own apps, so it's probably going to take some time / knee-breaking to get them to come around, but for some reason, we don't think it'll take as long with Android. There's a demo video available after the break, and please, try to contain yourselves.

[iLoveApple @ Feb 18th 2009 6:49PM]

"i" like turdles.

[Berka @ Feb 18th 2009 6:56PM]

wow :-)

[Game_playa @ Feb 18th 2009 7:05PM]

Haha, I love your picture

[gunner @ Feb 18th 2009 6:56PM]

SECOND!!!!

[Messymeese @ Feb 20th 2009 4:55PM]

I up-rank you for novelty, although a "+" means nothing in comparison with the abundance of "-"'s you have already received.

[Roc @ Feb 18th 2009 6:59PM]

Looks like the Magic will go to T-Mobile after all.

[Erik @ Feb 18th 2009 7:29PM]

Ah...didn't see that at first...

I wonder if it's just for T-Mobile in the UK/EU....

[Shinigami @ Feb 18th 2009 7:00PM]

How would you feel about using Android phone, which syncs your data with internet all the time, with a mobile-phone-service-provider, that requires you to disable any data compression and any security?
Just wondering...

[motoxo @ Feb 18th 2009 7:00PM]

i'd love for this to work with google tasks too!

i hate having to log in (and type in my username and password) each time.

[JohnTitor @ Feb 18th 2009 7:02PM]

geez Google, quit doing Apple favors

[John @ Feb 18th 2009 7:06PM]

it's not like there's a guy who's on the board of both companies or anything, geez.

[bob @ Feb 18th 2009 7:38PM]

cause google made html5 complient safari?

[Hawkman @ Feb 19th 2009 4:55AM]

It's funny because you've got this completely backwards.

The Apple-led WebKit project is in the iPhone and Android, providing HTML5 client side storage and allowing Google to build better web apps which take over the world. Apple have done Google a favour, if anything.

[tbehunin99 @ Feb 18th 2009 7:05PM]

That's pretty cool. However, given the context, it might not be as useful as we all think. All you're probably ultimately gaining is the ability to compose emails, organize/tag them, maybe organize contacts, etc. You still can't send/receive anything. Docs and other type apps probably make more sense using this technology here. My $0.02..

[wrabbit @ Feb 18th 2009 10:40PM]

Well you can sort of send. It won't go out as soon as you hit send but once you do you don't have to worry about it, you don't need to remember that you have a draft email that needs sending. When your device detects a network it'll just send it automatically.

[BeniRose @ Feb 20th 2009 3:27AM]

I wish it was this way on my mac!! Everytime I send something out when I don't have internet, I get a bouncy message from Mail every 10 minutes reminding me that I still don't have internet and can't send out the e-mail! I KNOW GAHH!

[Sardonic Bastard @ Feb 18th 2009 7:05PM]

The iPhone already has support for the "Databases" part... you can find it if you go to Settings, Safari, Databases. I have one in there, called GmailMobileWeb, with 475kb (out of 5mb allowable) used.

[Mtgoat @ Feb 18th 2009 7:14PM]

What wud I no?

[T-Will @ Feb 18th 2009 7:27PM]

Anyone ever heard of IMAP for Gmail?

Someone explain the advantages of a separate web app that won't auto-check and notify you of new email?

[Kemwer @ Feb 18th 2009 9:01PM]

Hum... I don't know, maybe full support to all Gmail features, like labels, stars, instant search on all your archive. Maybe, just maybe those things could sell that idea.

[T-Will @ Feb 18th 2009 9:13PM]

Sure it would be nice to have those features, but you already have a lot of those features between the current mobile Gmail site or with IMAP. But I understand now that the point is to develop one app and be able to use it across different devices.

[James @ Feb 18th 2009 11:31PM]

A much nicer interface and threaded conversations.

[Peter @ Feb 18th 2009 7:27PM]

Hasn't the iPhone already supported this all along? It saves my mail into the mail app when it downloads and I can view it offline.

[Davis4ever @ Feb 19th 2009 8:07AM]

They are talking about Gmail via Safari. You should try it out, it's actually nicer then Mail App.

I have already seen actual full Apps using this type of feature. I just updated TV Forecast and it has changed to full offline content.

[Fernando @ Feb 18th 2009 7:30PM]

Don't make it user agent specific google, give me an option to use it on S60 devices like you do with the iphone google reader.

[ducky @ Feb 18th 2009 7:32PM]

Ugh. All this drama and magic, and they can't freaking give me push email? Get your shit together, Google.

[mrspiteri @ Feb 18th 2009 7:32PM]

i "hate" my yellow teeth

[rayw @ Feb 18th 2009 7:53PM]

Not a joke / flame / etc. - I am only *wondering*: apart from the developer being able to develop a web-app that can run on any HTML5 compliant browser, what does it offer the end user that current applications don't already, e.g. the default email programs on the iPhone / WinMo devices all have "offline" capability, push features plus security don't they?

[Chris @ Feb 19th 2009 3:52PM]

One application that runs on multiple platforms makes the developer's life easier. The same user interface no matter what device makes user's lives easier.

[p3t3b2 @ Feb 18th 2009 8:03PM]

This is going to the Palm Pre as well, here is a video which shows offline webapps for HTML5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLMFUrzVWkk

Additional info:

http://precommunity.com/palm-pre-gets-html5-google-maps-app-offline-webapps-200918613

[Anticrawl @ Feb 18th 2009 8:18PM]

Am I missing something? Suppose to be a big deal? My blackberry does this.

[AlexL @ Feb 18th 2009 8:29PM]

Er...what? Android already does this. The Gmail app on Android syncs with the account on the cloud and actually downloads your messages. In the settings you specify which labels to sync and how much into the past messages should be synced and those messages actually get downloaded onto the phone. As for sending emails, if there's no connection the app would keep the email in Drafts and inform you that they will be sent out once connection is stored.

[Kemwer @ Feb 19th 2009 8:31AM]

The point of this is to avoid making single-OS apps. If you watch the whole presentation, the Google guys is not there to "sell" the Gmail offline service idea, but to introduce developers to the concept of making web applications that work offline, and are instantly compatible to all devices (that support HTML5).

So what is saying is: "watch what we did with Gmail. We made a single app that works on the iPhone, Android and Palm Pre without the trouble of porting the app 3 times. You can also do this, by developing with HTML5."

[dagamer34 @ Feb 18th 2009 8:41PM]

This demo has greater important on a desktop/laptop that doesn't always have an internet connection, where there are other uses for wanting to access online content when offline besides mail (since most people can migrate to desktop apps which cache everything).

[Kirbster @ Feb 18th 2009 9:03PM]

it says TMobile on the Magic!! Last time I saw Vodafone. States here we come?

[Fnuky @ Feb 18th 2009 9:23PM]

It's great how Fennec, Webkit and Opera will all support this soon, so there will be great cross-platform ability to do this!

I wonder if WM6.5, to be released at the end of this year, will support it with their IE6 rendering engine? Anybody? Hello? Largest software company in the world?

[sr @ Feb 18th 2009 10:57PM]

Listen we all know Microsoft can make a web browser to save their lives even on the PC. On mobiles they've given us "pocket internet explorer" I mean do you seriously think they can even make a decent attempt at a mobile browser?

Let them stick to what they know best: Office.

All joking aside, they really should. They have been doing better in general these days with Windows 7 and WinMo 6.5 looking pretty decent. The Windows Home Server is a personal favorite of mine. Great product.

[sr @ Feb 18th 2009 10:58PM]

Ha Ha. "can make" should be "can't make".

[bandigolo @ Feb 19th 2009 1:43PM]

yeah, wtf? Why is it so freaking difficult to create apps for the most familiar and prolific Mobile OS on the market?

[Adam Williamson @ Feb 19th 2009 1:54AM]

Good God, an email client which stores the data locally so I can read it when not connected to the network?

Wait a minute while I call 1976, they'll be TOTALLY pumped about this.

I know, let's call it....The Local Cloud!

*goes away to die a little inside*

[Erwin Boogert @ Feb 19th 2009 2:39AM]

Hi Jacob, here’s a video in HD from the front of the stage: http://vimeo.com/3268086

And a demo of the mobile audio search to make things complete: http://vimeo.com/3267862

[Josh @ Feb 19th 2009 10:10AM]

i'm dreaming of a gmail app that has push, can run in the background, and auto logs me in - all without the use of safari

mmm gmail, gchat, calendars, tasks, all in the same app

[Alexander Ilg @ Mar 3rd 2009 4:53AM]

I wrote a tutorial about the technologies behind the GMail offline demo. You can find it here: http://blog.msc-mobile.com/2009/03/03/1236073555483.html

[dhruv @ Apr 7th 2009 5:46PM]

I see that its a way to tout HTML5, but people with blackberry already has "offline" access to gmail and push gmail. Is this just a fancy web interface?