Filed under: Software, Features, Internet Tools, Beta Beat
First Impressions: Mailplane - the desktop Gmail client
Continue reading for the details on just what Mailplane is about, and be sure to check out our screenshot gallery for a taste of how well (so far) Gmail and the desktop are getting along.
Gallery: Mailplane - Gmail desktop client
Unlike that browser just for Gmail, Mailplane wraps Gmail's web interface in Mac OS X software which allows it to do some really slick stuff. Upon opening Mailplane for the first time, it prompts you to set Mailplane as the default email app which allows you to click on just about any email address or 'mailto' link from the web to create a new Gmail message in Mailplane. If you also opt to install the iPhoto plugin, the Email button in Apple's darling iLife app will send your re-sized copies to Mailplane and attach them to a new message as well.
Dragging and dropping one or more files onto the Mailplane window also creates a new message with those files attached. Mail.app, your days are numbered.
Helping users to manage attachments coming into Gmail, Mailplane has a Downloads menu that can quickly take you to the default location for downloading attachments (set in a Preferences window), as well as automatically adding images found in Gmail messages. Very nice.
With all this good stuff, however, there are of course a few caveats such as being an early private beta and the fact that all your email still lives on Google's servers; i.e. - Mailplane doesn't download your email like a traditional client, it just allows you to interact with Gmail in a very powerful new way. At this early stage, however, there are a number of key elements I hope Mailplane's development focuses on. First, Mailplane implements a number of proprietary keyboard shortcuts to accomplish tasks that Gmail already has in place. For example: starring a message is cmd-*, even though pressing 's' still does the same thing. I guess this could be useful for users new to Gmail, but I wager it will be the power users after Mailplane (especially since I assume it will be a commercial app once the beta is finished), in which case they will probably be sticking to all the universal keyboard shortcuts that work no matter where or what they access Gmail from. Speaking of keyboard shortcuts, I think this is also an area where Mailplane really needs to branch out in order to capture its target audience. I use Gmail in Firefox with some Greasemonkey scripts that add serious keyboard functionality, such as navigating to labels, expanding/collapsing conversations, discarding and marking conversations as read - all from the keyboard. It's functionality like this that draws me to Gmail because these scripts make it more powerful and easier to navigate than any desktop email client I've ever used. This stuff is power user gold, and something I would be glad to pay for in a Mac OS X Cocoa application like Mailplane.
But I digress - Mailplane is a strong - and still early beta - start to an exciting application. I'm sure it has quite a ways to go yet, and plenty of us TUAW Gmail-slinging bloggers will be keeping an eye on how development evolves. For now, check out our screenshot gallery, and stay tuned here and the Mailplane blog to stay on top of this unique blend of web and desktop software.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mat Lu said 7:28PM on 3-15-2007
I definitely like what I've seen so far with Mailplane. Another nice feature of the app is Growl integration. Like David, I too want more keyboard shortcuts, but this is one to keep an eye on.
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hamish said 7:33PM on 3-15-2007
Why not just use Mail.app with gmail via POP? Then you can use Mail.app to send and receive emails, get the spam protection etc, and still use Gmail if you're ever away from your Mac..?
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Stephen said 7:38PM on 3-15-2007
A) It's not in sync -- I constantly am marking messages as read in my gmail on the web that I've already read on my mac, and B) Gmail has a pretty primo interface as it is, mailplane just adds some of the features you can't easily get out of a web app. Which rocks.
I'm on the waiting list to beta test.
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Dave Chartier said 7:44PM on 3-15-2007
Hamish: there are a lot of advantages to sticking with Gmail's online interface, such as labels, phone access, differences in UI (conversations are a big one for me, personally), Google's inarguably superior and modifiable search... there's a lot it has to offer.
For the record, I actually have my emails set up so they all filter through Gmail, and I sometimes use Mail.app to keep on top of things. But having Mailplane bring the UI and experience of Gmail to the Mac desktop and integrate it with OS X... it's a match made in Gmail power user heaven.
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Dan said 9:04PM on 3-15-2007
so you can't view any of your mail if you don't have an wifi connection while in the wild?
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Dave Chartier said 9:32PM on 3-15-2007
#5: Dan, unfortunately no, all Mailplane is doing is wrapping the Gmail web interface in some OS X software to integrate it better, allowing you to do things like drag and drop files to attach them.
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Mark A said 11:11PM on 3-15-2007
Looks nice, but since it appears to use WebKit, you do lose out on the rich-text editing that Firefox & Camino users already enjoy. What would be nice is if they could override the WebKit text area to provide something slightly friendlier to people writing long/richly formatted mails.
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dalton said 6:20AM on 3-16-2007
This looks sweet, and it's something I've wanted for a long time. (Hope someone's working on gCal next!) What would put this over the top for me is handling multiple accounts simultaneously, as well as hopefully keeping gMail's ability to send as different users.
I'm signed up for the private beta, and if it works as advertised, I'll be the first to buy it.
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Sam said 1:18AM on 3-16-2007
Private beta status is lame. If you're going to promote a product, it should be available even if beta. Otherwise, it should be kept completely secret until it is finished.
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Steve A said 5:46AM on 3-16-2007
Unless they've got a special agreement with Google, expect this to vanish sometime soon:
"You agree not to access Google services by any means other than through the interface that is provided by Google for use in accessing Google services except as specifically authorized in a separate written agreement."
http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/users/terms.html
Shame, it looked cool!
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rich said 5:56AM on 3-16-2007
I don't get it. The whole beauty of web apps is they run in a tab on my browser so my desktop isn't cluttered with individual applications.
This seems like a bit of a step backward.
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Dave Chartier said 9:02AM on 3-16-2007
#9: I don't quite understand how Mailplane is breaking Google's TOS. Care to elaborate?
#10: You're right, that definitely is an advantage of a web app, but many also find that a disadvantage as well because web apps don't integrate with your OS. A feature many people enjoy is being able to, for example, click the email button in iPhoto and have 20 selected photos automatically attached to a new message in Mail.app, or simply draggin and dropping a file onto the Mail icon or a new message to accomplish the same. This is the kind of powerful integration Mailplane brings to the table.
#11: I've never quite understood the separate Gmail account thing. I have about 6 email addresses all forwarding to/funneling through Gmail, and I simply set it up to send/receive from all those addresses, and I have a couple of custom filters and labels set up to organize it all. With these features at our disposal, could you elaborate on why you have more than one Gmail account?
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k* said 9:24AM on 3-16-2007
#2, because Gmail's conversations feature is to die for. I hate web-based applications as much as anyone, and I *especially* hate Google's so-called sense of aesthetics, but until a Cocoa-native client can display threads like Gmail, I'll suffer gladly.
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Seth Ferris said 9:58AM on 3-16-2007
yeah maybe its just me, but i find googles' UI to be awful from a design perspective. don't more people feel the same way?
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Dave Chartier said 10:26AM on 3-16-2007
#14: Yea, a lot of people aren't exactly in love with Google's design sense, but the popularity of many of their apps is a good example of their unique approach to functionality and UI can trump aesthetics.
Since I can assume most of us here are Mac users, we obviously prefer a good balance of both, but a lot of factors can affect one's choice when it comes to something as important as an email client. Gmail simply has some really fundamental innovation that tips the scales for a lot of people.
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vmarks said 9:47PM on 3-16-2007
Gmail works pretty well.
I foward my accounts to gmail from the servers those emails come in on.
I have my accounts added in gmail and set to reply from the address incoming emails were originally sent to.
I have labels set up so that all incoming mail is sorted by its address it was sent to.
I have them set to be archived when read by POP access, so that when I read them, they're marked as read in gmail.
It's all pretty slick, so with this configuration, there are only a few things that Mailplane adds to the mix.
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Tony said 1:50PM on 4-10-2007
This is very nice and I like the way it syncs with the Web app. One think that should be added is the ability to know that an email is in the process of sending. Some type of status bar or something spinning so you know its going out
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Tony said 4:14PM on 4-10-2007
This is very nice and I like the way it syncs with the Web app. One think that should be added is the ability to know that an email is in the process of sending. Some type of status bar or something spinning so you know its going out
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Tony said 3:36PM on 4-11-2007
Always compose in a new window is not working and the program should allow for HTML email.
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Gérard Lebailly said 3:01AM on 4-24-2007
Initiative riche et intéressante, mais donnez nous vite une version en Français! Merci.
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