iPod touch Do Gmail & Gcal Work Offline?

[HappyDude20]

I'm debating about purchase an ipod touch but am wondering if Gmail and Gcal work offline?

I know both desktop versions allow this, and could have sworn recently hearing updates to gmail using the iphone would allow to write an email without being online and have it saved into your drafts until signing online and having the email you wrote be automatically sent with the first hint of wifi.

 

[MaxPower49]

You can write emails offline... when you try to send it will say no internet connection and then save it to your outbox. When you get in wifi range, I think you have to launch the mail app again to send it. Not sure about Gcal.

 

[Global2]

Yes, you can work offline with Gmail and Gcal. I don't know if Gmail and Gcal work offline as web applications on a Touch. I am not interested, and let me suggest you may not be interested either, for there is a better alternative, namely use of the Touch's native mail and calendar applications with Gmail and Gcal. Both work just fine off line. With the mail app, you can download emails from Gmail, go offline, read them, compose responses and new emails and then go online to send. Similarly, OS 3.0 introduces full synching with Gcal. Events remain in the calendar app when you are offline and, also when offline, you can enter new events to be uploaded to Gcal later.

 

[mkrishnan]

As for the specific question of using the browser based Offline tools that Google offers, I just tried this on my iPhone with firmware 3.0. Google defaults to mobile versions of its apps that look different from the full browser versions (they're actually pretty good, though) but one can also switch to the full browser edition. However, I don't see the Offline Mode button in either version -- it's not shown in the location where it is on the desktop client. So it doesn't look like you can do it.

The other issue is that the way that MobileSafari behaves when there is no internet connection. Even if the offline option were available, MobileSafari doesn't always let you see the previously loaded page in the browser when Safari has been closed and then it's opened without internet access. At least, in my experience with 2.2, this was an issue -- it would sometimes try to re-load it. It seems to do this less (and possibly not at all) in 3.0, but it does pop up the "no internet connection" error box frequently, so I think this will be a huge nuisance to use.

So as the others said, if you want to do this, you're going to want to do it using Google's calendar in the iPod mail and calendar apps.

 

[HappyDude20]

Yes, you can work offline with Gmail and Gcal. I don't know if Gmail and Gcal work offline as web applications on a Touch. I am not interested, and let me suggest you may not be interested either, for there is a better alternative, namely use of the Touch's native mail and calendar applications with Gmail and Gcal. Both work just fine off line. With the mail app, you can download emails from Gmail, go offline, read them, compose responses and new emails and then go online to send. Similarly, OS 3.0 introduces full synching with Gcal. Events remain in the calendar app when you are offline and, also when offline, you can enter new events to be uploaded to Gcal later.

I believe ultimately I may have to go this route, though personally I feel then i'll have to set up iCal and Mail on my Mac as well.

Currently on my Mac i use the desktop, offline version of Gmail and Gcal. I love gmail on my Mac and ever since it's had offline use i've ditched Apple's Mail further. The same with Gcal. I just feel i'll have to reinstitute both Apple apps into my life again, just to keep everything on my iPod Touch and Mac in sync.

That and Mail and iCal work differently than Gmail and Gcal, mainly Gmail, in terms of folders and everything I want.

Gmail saves all emails i've ever sent/received, while I'm getting the impression Apple's Mail will have to download thousands of email, just to slow down my Mac.

 

[akm3]

I believe ultimately I may have to go this route, though personally I feel then i'll have to set up iCal and Mail on my Mac as well.

Currently on my Mac i use the desktop, offline version of Gmail and Gcal. I love gmail on my Mac and ever since it's had offline use i've ditched Apple's Mail further. The same with Gcal. I just feel i'll have to reinstitute both Apple apps into my life again, just to keep everything on my iPod Touch and Mac in sync.

That and Mail and iCal work differently than Gmail and Gcal, mainly Gmail, in terms of folders and everything I want.

Gmail saves all emails i've ever sent/received, while I'm getting the impression Apple's Mail will have to download thousands of email, just to slow down my Mac.

No you won't. Mail and Calendar on iPod sync to gMail and gCal - and your desktop continues to work directly with gMail and gCal.

No need to fire up iCal and Mail on the Mac to do what you are discussing.

Also, with IMAP if you configure Mail on iPod properly, it will continue to use your folders properly, archive mail properly (even when you 'delete' them on the iPod, it really just archives them once configured properly) and with 3.0 you can search via IMAP all your messages on the server, so it doesn't have to have EVERYTHING stored locally.

Give it a try, I don't think it works like you think it works.

 

[yiplgwake]

gmail gcal works great offline

see googles website: http://www.google.com/mobile/apple/mail.html

I just tried this yesterday, wrote an email the other day at work (a basement of a large complex) without wifi and sent it. Shortly after getting home and turning on my ipod, the email showed up in my sent mail.

Gmail and gcal syncing with mail and ical is a pain. Don't do it if you don't like ical or mail.

 

[Global2]

Very sorry, yiplgwake, but I don't follow what you are saying. Surely you can't mean that you sent an email from your Touch without using a wifi connection? What would be the medium of transmission? Again, sorry if I misunderstand.

 

[yiplgwake]

gmail and gcal

Very sorry, yiplgwake, but I don't follow what you are saying. Surely you can't mean that you sent an email from your Touch without using a wifi connection? What would be the medium of transmission? Again, sorry if I misunderstand.

Sorry, I assumed you watched the video at the link, but here are the steps:

1. on your touch with wifi connection log into your gmail account
2. press the center plus button on the lower part of the screen
3. choose "add to home screen" button
4. use the name gmail, then hit the "add" button in upper right hand corner
5. repeat with gcal, tasks (visit google.com/tasks), docs, and maps


This creates a gmail button for your home screen. Now turn your wifi off so you are not connected to anything. Try a website in safari if you need to convince yourself. Then from your home screen hit the gmail button. Your gmail, as it was when you last connected to it with wifi, will show up. There you can label, archive, compose, etc. in gmail. This info will be saved and delivered to your gmail account next time you connect to wifi. I just did this again, but saved my composed email instead of sending it (I sent one yesterday and it worked). I reconnected my touch to wifi, hit the gmail button from my home screen and let it update. Then from my computer I went to gmail, went to drafts and sure enough, the draft was there. Works great!

Key is to remember to access gmail from your ipod when you do connect to wifi. It won't update gmail if you don't go to your gmail account on your ipod touch.

No need for MAIL or ical (which cannot be accessed when you are away from your computer or ipod touch/iphone) don't convert if you don't have to. Now if google would hurry and update the tasks feature to be displayed in google calendar on the desktop/ipod or iphone we would be set.

Any questions still?

 

[HappyDude20]

This creates a gmail button for your home screen. Now turn your wifi off so you are not connected to anything. Try a website in safari if you need to convince yourself. Then from your home screen hit the gmail button. Your gmail, as it was when you last connected to it with wifi, will show up. There you can label, archive, compose, etc. in gmail. This info will be saved and delivered to your gmail account next time you connect to wifi. I just did this again, but saved my composed email instead of sending it (I sent one yesterday and it worked). I reconnected my touch to wifi, hit the gmail button from my home screen and let it update. Then from my computer I went to gmail, went to drafts and sure enough, the draft was there. Works great!

Key is to remember to access gmail from your ipod when you do connect to wifi. It won't update gmail if you don't go to your gmail account on your ipod touch.

No need for MAIL or ical (which cannot be accessed when you are away from your computer or ipod touch/iphone) don't convert if you don't have to. Now if google would hurry and update the tasks feature to be displayed in google calendar on the desktop/ipod or iphone we would be set.

Any questions still?

A big selling point for me in terms of my email (gmail) is being able to access is it offline. On my Mac I use Gmail offline and can edit, compose, etc offline and then when I get wifi again on my Mac it'll send the appropiate emails i wrote offline.

I'm wondering, with accessing Gmail offline on the Touch as you mentioned, do you still have access to all you emails inside of gmail? For some reason I wouldn't think so since Gmail on my Mac (both offline and online) currently have over 1GB worth of emails. Then again, can MAIL on the touch keep all your emails? Like, can it sync up with your Mac's MAIL and get all your emails on the Mac's MAIL to the Touch's MAIL?

Secondly, MAIL on the Touch can accept attachments, like .doc, .pages, .numbers, .etc. ----Can Gmail? What about reaching these attachments inside of Gmail offline?

See, I use Gmail offline on my Mac, have the Gmail icon on my dock and open it using Firefox when offline...But depending on all this information regarding Gmail & MAIL offline on the Touch might feel like needing to switch to MAIL from Gmail offline on my Mac....

...but iono.

 

[gillboyswims96]

idk about gcal

but for gmail if you like use the mail app then u can.

 

[akm3]

idk about gcal

but for gmail if you like use the mail app then u can.

And/or if you use the iPod touch built in mail app, it will function the same way, although the Gmail app is better. See mail offline, queue mail to send later offline, etc.

 

[HappyDude20]

And/or if you use the iPod touch built in mail app, it will function the same way, although the Gmail app is better. See mail offline, queue mail to send later offline, etc.

Why do you see Gmail on the Touch better than the included Mail?
You don't see any limitations using Gmail?

Edit: So far, hearing that Gmail can be used on the iTouch when not on WiFi is making Gmail for me the best contender. Hearing that I can still compose, edit and view my Gmail messages when not under WiFi is great, but am still wondering about attachments.

I know that with Apple's Mail I can tap with my finger to download an attachment and once i've downloaded it to the iTouch I can view that attachment anytime, even when not under WiFi by going into Mail. . . But what about Gmail? I'm guessing and think I'd be guessing correctly that Gmail has the capability to view and perhaps download an email attachment, but would I be able to open up Gmail offline and view an already downloaded attachment?

 

[akm3]

Why do you see Gmail on the Touch better than the included Mail?
You don't see any limitations using Gmail?

Edit: So far, hearing that Gmail can be used on the iTouch when not on WiFi is making Gmail for me the best contender. Hearing that I can still compose, edit and view my Gmail messages when not under WiFi is great, but am still wondering about attachments.

I know that with Apple's Mail I can tap with my finger to download an attachment and once i've downloaded it to the iTouch I can view that attachment anytime, even when not under WiFi by going into Mail. . . But what about Gmail? I'm guessing and think I'd be guessing correctly that Gmail has the capability to view and perhaps download an email attachment, but would I be able to open up Gmail offline and view an already downloaded attachment?

I'm not sure about attachments.

All I *am* sure about is you have no reason to consider using Mail or iCal on the Mac just because you are using Mail or Calendar on the iPod.

GMail on the iPod is a better Gmail browser than Mail on the iPod because it makes it easier to support tagging and what not, so if you only use Gmail, certainly use that. I don't use gCal so I can't comment. You'll have to test how attachments work - I don't know if they are stored locally with the message or left on the server to download.

Not all attachments can be opened though, that can be a bit tricky, because you don't 'download' them to the touch to open with another application. If mobile safari can't preview the attachment, you are hosed, which is where maye googledocs comes in more handy.