Since I switched to using Gmail as my only mail client, email has begun working for me again. Spam is less of a headache and I can access my mail anywhere. Having learned that Google may be working on a new interface for Gmail, I quickly concocted this wish list for Gmail Gamma, in no particular order:
- HTML signatures
- Offline mail client
- ToDo list
- Calendar agenda
- Speed improvements
- “Compose Mail” link changes
- Neater mail management tools
They have rich text editing, and can display other peoples HTML signatures. Why can’t I?
I’ll bet my left leg this is already on its way. An offline Gmail client using, say Google Gears, would be great. HTML is nice, but it’s still limited to, well, what HTML can do.
Well, this is actually a Google product I’d like on its own. A Google ToDo list that’s centrally stored and accessible via various ways, such as Google Gadgets, in Google Calendar and yes, in Google Gmail.
I’d like the option to show my Google Calendar agenda somewhere. Be it permanently in the right side… maybe replacing the now useless invite box, or as a “click to toggle” button somewhere.
Gmail is fast. But it could be faster. Be it through an offline client, or some fancy caching mechanisms, I’d like the inbox logo to take me to my inbox instantly.
Since “Compose Mail” is a JavaScript link, I can’t right-click it. Neither can I use the Firefox “middle-click open in new tab” feature. Fixing this should not only be doable but really really nice. Sometimes I just need to see my inbox, while I’m writing an email. Note, I know that shift-clicking the compose mail link does this, but I don’t want modifier keys when it can be done from the mouse.
If the Google Docs redesign has anything to say about it, then we’re in for drag & drop features and smoothly scrolling toggle buttons. If it’ll be fast enough, I’m all for the increased archive transparency.
What would you want?
A light and fast mobile version, like Google Reader’s mobile version, would be nice too.
To-do list seems fine for me (if they are really gonna do it). Maybe ability to send e-mails in a particular time or something like built in newsletter sender would be interesting.
For cellphones? Don’t they already have a mobile Gmail ? Or do you mean one that’s faster?
I think scheduled emailing would be possible, but a newsletter sender would most likely not happen as it could possibly be used for spamming and hence blacklist the gmail servers.
Sorry, they do, but I forgot to mention that it’s nowhere near complete. It’s lacking several features that its big brother has, most notably would be the ability to reply to an email. You can compose an email with mobile Gmail, but you can’t reply.
I find the absence of a reply feature on the mobile version to be rather crippling for the whole mobile Gmail experience. So, what I meant to say is that I would like to see a light and fast mobile Gmail with at least 80% of the features that its big brother has, like Google Reader’s mobile version.
Great list Joen, I agree on all of them.
A missing feature I would love to see implemented is the ability to use the arrow keys to navigate through emails (once one email is active, e.g. using ctrl+alt+arrow). When the arrow key is pressed a small snippet of the inbox could be shown to facilitate navigation, maybe showcasing three or four emails closest to the current. One could event keep tapping on the e.g. down arrow key to go further down the list. Once you pause it should disappear and show the selected email. Am I dreaming…