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 Gmail for Mobile Devices Price: Free
By Jeffrey Wilson 
When Gmail debuted in April 2004, it took the online world by storm. Its innovative Conversation View, which groups sent messages and replies into a simple-to-read thread, helped push the free, Web-based e-mail service into the same arena as Hotmail and Yahoo. Now, Google has released Gmail for Mobile Devices, and we think it's an all-around winner.
We received a prerelease version of Gmail for Mobile Devices loaded onto a Samsung A900M (available on the Sprint network). After opening the client and inputting a user name and password, we arrived at our Inbox, where we were treated to a screen reminiscent of Gmail's layout, but without the links for Starred Items, Chats, Sent Items, and Labels. The top of the application sports the familiar Gmail logo and displays the number of unread messages. We were pleased to see that Gmail for Mobile Devices uses conversation threading like its big brother. Opening a thread immediately takes you to the last e-mail exchanged, and it's easy to view the other messages that came before it. If you click the tab that sits above the last thread entry, Gmail switches to a vertically tabbed perspective where you can open any of the previous e-mail messages. Unfortunately, there's no Expand All option as found in the standard Gmail Web application, but with Google's history of steadily updating its products, we suspect that this will be an option in the not-too-distant future. The layout of an open e-mail is clean and well formatted, and the text is easy to read. JPEG attachments looked great, as did Word documents, which maintained their formatting. Another plus: Gmail for Mobile Devices automatically syncs with your standard Gmail account, so if you view, tag, or delete a message on your phone, it will be marked as such the next time you access Gmail from your computer. A number of keypad shortcuts optimize this application for mobile use. For example, pressing "2" takes you to the Compose E-mail screen. From there, you can press any button to access your address book. At the top of the screen is a handy contact search box that will return names with each keystroke. The "4" key takes you to the Reply screen, where you can respond to an e-mail or add a CC or BCC. Hitting the Menu key opens an array of options including Reply, Reply All, Forward, and Compose; you can even Star and Archive messages and report a message as spam. And what Google app would be complete without a search function? In an attempt to find a friend's housewarming invitation, we keyed in her name, hit the Search key, and seconds later, we were presented with her address. Gmailers who were dissatisfied with the Big G's previous mobile e-mail will drool over Gmail for Mobile Devices. It can be downloaded for free by visiting gmail.com/app on your mobile (or by going to mobile.google.com on a PC and entering your phone number-a download URL will be sent to your phone via a text message). Although it only runs on Java-enabled phones, this is a must-have application for anyone who wants to access e-mail when away from a computer. Gmail for Mobile Devices Specifications Featured Site Sponsors
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