PriorityInbox
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Gmail v2.3.5 for Android adds label-specific ringtones and sync priority mail only options
If you love Gmail and need to access it on the go, you probably already know that Google's Android platform is the best way to do so, and with the new v2.3.5 it's getting even better. The top two new features this time around include the ability to sync only priority messages (saving battery life and keeping unimportant messages at bay) and the ability to individually set notifications and ringtones for any of the labels in your inbox. The Android Market website is still showing version 2.3.4.1, but we successfully upgraded via the Market on our devices. Also new are features like remembering "Show Pictures" for specific senders, a toggle for sticky message actions in all orientations as well as improved overall performance and TalkBack screen reader support. Update: The website is now showing all the details for 2.3.5, hit the source link to update or just check the official list after the break.
Gmail brings Priority Inbox to mobile web app, stymies green-eyed monster
Those of you suffering from Android envy can put your jealousy aside momentarily, because Priority Inbox is now available via Gmail's mobile web app. Up until now, the mail sorting system was available for the desktop and Android devices only, but now smart email prioritizing is anybody's game. If you didn't already know, Priority Inbox sorts emails in order of importance by learning from your actions, like how many times you read or reply to messages from a certain address. Mobile web users were always able to dig up those sorted messages with the "Important" label, but now all the good stuff is front and center. The feature is available right now on most HTML5-compatible browsers for devices running Android 1.5 and iOS 3.0 or higher, and while it may not be the great equalizer, it's bound to quell some feelings of OS inadequacy. We'll chalk it up as a win for the little green monster (and a loss for his green-eyed friend).
Gmail Priority Inbox now available on iPhone
The official Gmail blog has announced that the Priority Inbox feature, which uses an algorithm to mark what it thinks are important emails in your inbox, is now available on the web version of Gmail for the iPhone. If you've set up the service to work on your usual browser, it'll now also work on Gmail for Mobile, which is up and running in HTML5 on iPhones everywhere. I use Gmail almost exclusively for all of my email, yet aside from a short trial when it was first released, I've never really had much interest in Priority Inbox. I do a much better job of sorting my email than Google's algorithm, and I'm too worried that I'll miss something important that should have been prioritized if I depend on the formula. But a feature is a feature, and since Gmail is free anyway, those of you who use Priority Inbox will probably be happy to see it the next time you log into Gmail from a mobile device. [via MacStories]
Google adds HTML5 Gmail and Gtalk notifications for the desktop, makes you envy Chrome users
Oh, come on, Google! If you're going to give us desktop notifiers for our favorite email and chat clients, you've got to play nice and let us have them on more than your own browser, right? To be fair to the Chrome maker, it's standardizing the code it's used in its new HTML5 alerts so that other browsers can soon use it too, but as of today, you'll need to use the Google-sanctioned webscape navigator if you want its sweet new pop-ups on your desktop. We gave them a quick try and they're delightfully quick, with Gtalk message alerts updating themselves to the latest one received instead of stacking up and threatening your sanity. Hit the source link to learn how to enable the new notifications.
Gmail for Android update improves Priority Inbox, adds additional compose and send options
Hey, Google just rolled out Gmail for Android 2.3.2, which improves support for Priority Inbox and adds in a couple much-needed compose and send options. Priority Inbox gets some buffed-up views and controls to change importance settings, and Gmail can now send a notification upon receipt of an important email, which is incredibly cool. Even better, the compose screen now lets you specify any sending address you've setup in desktop Gmail, which is a slice of pure email heaven for those of us who juggle multiple accounts from one inbox. You can also respond to messages inline now and swap between reply, reply-all, and forward much more easily. Best of all, if you're running Froyo you can hit that QR code and go grab the update right now since Google broke Gmail out into a Market app -- no need to wait for your pokey manufacturer / carrier to roll out Gingerbread. (Then again, if you're still waiting for Froyo you might not be quite as pleased.) Ain't modularity grand?
Set up your own Priority Inbox with Apple's Mail
Last month, Google released Priority Inbox, a system that learns which messages are the most important to you and highlights them automatically over time. It's in beta right now and Google is slowly turning it on for its users. If you're tired of waiting, or if you use Apple's Mail and not Gmail, you'll appreciate this setup from Ben Brooks. Ben explains how a combination of rules acts as his "priority inbox" for Mail. He's got some basic rules in place, like one that identifies messages from Apple and one that files backups away. Others are more clever. For instance, he's written one that first notices if his work address is in the CC field, and then checks if his name appears in the message body. If not, it's highlighted red and stored away. That way, it's marked "less important" in Priority Inbox terms. Conversely, another rule searches for messages from people on a pre-defined "Important" list and flags them. Taken individually the rules are clever but not amazing. Combined, however, they make for an effective system. Go and read the whole post. [Via Shawn Blanc]
Google launches Priority Inbox for Gmail, sorts your mail for you
It's no secret we're all crazy Gmail addicts at Engadget, and although the staff regularly erupts into 10-round slapfights over wonktastic filter / label strategies and triage techniques, it seems like Google's new Priority Inbox feature might take much of the pain away from heavy message management. The system assesses how often and how much you've read email from the sender before, as well as how much you've communicated in reply and other factors, and uses that info to organize the inbox. Early reports seem to indicate it all works pretty well after some training, but we might still be compulsive enough to want to see every message that hits our inbox -- you never know when some random tipster's going to send in next-gen Atari shots from a fake address. That said, we still want to try it out, but we'll have to wait -- like every new Gmail feature, it's being rolled over the next week or so. Video after the break.
