Gmail goes offline to avoid flatline online

Google has finally added offline support to Gmail, allowing US and Blighty-based users to read and write email while unconnected to the interwebs. The firm said it was rolling out an “experimental feature in Gmail Labs” that will probably be a bit cranky and frustrating due to the fact that there are still “some kinks that …

[Edwin]

So....

is it POP?

is it IMAP?

or has Google decided to

- create a new, better open standard?

- create a new proprietary standard?

I just don't see the point - I really don't.

[adnim]

copycats

"The firm said it was rolling out an “experimental feature in Gmail Labs” that will probably be a bit cranky and frustrating due to the fact that there are still “some kinks that haven't been completely ironed out yet"

So they are following Microsofts lead and using the public as beta testers. At least they are honest about it. Where as Microsoft... Well, form your own conclusions.

[Anonymous Coward]

Typo

due to the fact that there are still “some kinks that haven't been completely ignored yet”.

[GrahamT]

And how is this better...

than using Thunderbird and POP3/SMTP to Gmail?

Yet another solution looking for a problem. (And I bet it is Windows only)

[Connor Garvey]

POP / IMAP

"because up to now it was limited by the fact that messages could only be accessed online"

Perhaps the author forgot that GMail can be accessed via both POP and IMAP.

[David Hicks]

Hooray

Google re-invent the wheel inside the browser. Again.

Sure they'll do a swell job, I'm still not interested in letting a giant advertising firm play host to all my data.

I'll stick to thunderbird.

[blue]

title

Don't trip over yourselves to be the first to piss on Google's parade, whatever you do, people.

Unlike pop/imap this will also allow people to continue using the gmail interface, which some people quite like.

[Anonymous Coward]

No doubt Google is doing some interesting

stuff but it can never be wise to let any company be too big or have to much control over your data. You should be able to guess which companies I'm talking about.

[Pascal Monett]

@Connor Garvey

"Perhaps the author forgot that GMail can be accessed via both POP and IMAP."

Perhaps you could have actually read the article to its end before banging off a comment.

[Robert E A Harvey]

Oh look a wheel..

Oh look a wheel..... we'd better re-invent it.