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The iPhone needs a native Gmail application
[Update] Check the bottom of the post for a video from Mobile World Congress showing Gmail with offline support running on an iPhone. The iPhone needs a native Gmail application. There, I've said it. Every time I bring this up with iPhone users, I get one of the following questions: What's wrong with the built-in Mail app? What's wrong with the Gmail iPhone-optimized web interface? How dare you criticize the iPhone! Okay, that last one isn't a question, but you can tell that some people are thinking it. Let's tackle the questions: What's wrong with the built-in iPhone Mail app? I have to admit that Mail on the iPhone is the best email client I've ever used on a mobile device. But that's really not saying much, since virtually ever app that I regularly use on the iPhone is better than the equivalent Windows Mobile or Blackberry versions I have used with previous devices. The main thing that I find to be missing in Mail on the iPhone is message threading. Gmail is the gold standard when it comes to keeping messages grouped by thread, and Mail.app on the Mac comes a close second, in my opinion. For me, this is a must-have feature, and it drives me crazy that it is missing from Mail on the iPhone. One other frustration with the iPhone Mail client (admittedly one that native Gmail would not fix) is how many taps it takes to move between mail accounts. It sure would be nice for Apple to include an integrated Inbox that works the same way it does on Mail.app for the Mac.
