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Intuitive Email Management App 'Mailbox' Now Available in App Store
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I have been using the app since this morning, here are a few points:
- Looks good, animations are good, easy on the eye...
- I was already trying to get to almost inbox zero, and the shortcuts in the app definitely helps
- Push notifications are FAST, phone vibrates before my desktop shows the new email, they're doing a good job there
- One major problem for me is the badge. You have the choice between using the badge to show number of items in inbox (includes read, unread, new, old, everything) or use the badge to show "1" when you have unread emails. Yes, "1", whether you have 1 or 5 unread emails, it will just show "1". It's not a bug, it is presented that way... Also, the badge number, even if you use it to display the number of items in inbox, doesn't sync instantly if you process your emails on the desktop
I want my badge to show me number of unread emails. You can't do that. Especially if you use a desktop email client, the app has no awareness (when it is closed) of the number of unread emails, so the badge can't update with the correct numbers. In fact, even if you read all your emails on your desktop, the badge will remain at "1".
We know, from Sparrow's attempts, that Apple doesn't let a third party email app poll emails in the background when the app is closed, so that explains it, but that needs to change. Until this is possible, we won't have a perfect sync of the badge until we launch the app, and that just ruins everything. I hate to open the app because the badge shows a number, then to see I have no new emails.
- Another problem is the fact that there isn't a desktop app. Yes, archiving emails or snooze them will make them disappear from your inbox even on the desktop. However, the problem is that this app forces you, or at least greatly encourages you, to adopt a new workflow to process incoming emails. You either archive them, put them in a list, snooze them or delete them. It's all about the workflow. However, it's impossible to have the same workflow once you're on the desktop, no snooze possible there. So you're back to the old way of (not) organizing things when you're back on the desktop. To me it's a big problem. If I decide of a workflow to organize my emails, I want to be able to use that workflow in all the places where I access email.
- No landscape
So to summarize, it is a very good first iteration, but I am not sure I will keep using it as my main email app until:
- There is a desktop Mac app and an iPad app for me to use the same workflow on all my devices. Otherwise it is just silly to write my emails on one device, and organize them on another, it's too complex
- Apple lets this and other email app poll the servers in the background and update the badge. I can't get myself to use an email app with an out of sync badge
- few other improvements...
- Looks good, animations are good, easy on the eye...
- I was already trying to get to almost inbox zero, and the shortcuts in the app definitely helps
- Push notifications are FAST, phone vibrates before my desktop shows the new email, they're doing a good job there
- One major problem for me is the badge. You have the choice between using the badge to show number of items in inbox (includes read, unread, new, old, everything) or use the badge to show "1" when you have unread emails. Yes, "1", whether you have 1 or 5 unread emails, it will just show "1". It's not a bug, it is presented that way... Also, the badge number, even if you use it to display the number of items in inbox, doesn't sync instantly if you process your emails on the desktop
I want my badge to show me number of unread emails. You can't do that. Especially if you use a desktop email client, the app has no awareness (when it is closed) of the number of unread emails, so the badge can't update with the correct numbers. In fact, even if you read all your emails on your desktop, the badge will remain at "1".
We know, from Sparrow's attempts, that Apple doesn't let a third party email app poll emails in the background when the app is closed, so that explains it, but that needs to change. Until this is possible, we won't have a perfect sync of the badge until we launch the app, and that just ruins everything. I hate to open the app because the badge shows a number, then to see I have no new emails.
- Another problem is the fact that there isn't a desktop app. Yes, archiving emails or snooze them will make them disappear from your inbox even on the desktop. However, the problem is that this app forces you, or at least greatly encourages you, to adopt a new workflow to process incoming emails. You either archive them, put them in a list, snooze them or delete them. It's all about the workflow. However, it's impossible to have the same workflow once you're on the desktop, no snooze possible there. So you're back to the old way of (not) organizing things when you're back on the desktop. To me it's a big problem. If I decide of a workflow to organize my emails, I want to be able to use that workflow in all the places where I access email.
- No landscape
So to summarize, it is a very good first iteration, but I am not sure I will keep using it as my main email app until:
- There is a desktop Mac app and an iPad app for me to use the same workflow on all my devices. Otherwise it is just silly to write my emails on one device, and organize them on another, it's too complex
- Apple lets this and other email app poll the servers in the background and update the badge. I can't get myself to use an email app with an out of sync badge
- few other improvements...
Quick update on the testing:
- If you use the badge for number if items in the inbox, and not unread emails, the badge seems to stay better in sync, even if you archive stuff on the desktop. Not sure it is 100% reliable yet, but the badge does seem to decrease when you archive stuff on the desktop, even when the app is not running, cool.
- However, that's the only badge option that works
- If you're like me and hate to have a non zero badge, this forces you more into their workflow of moving everything out of the inbox, which again, can be don nicely with their app, but only on the iPhone.
Lol. Well put my friend. I uninstalled the minute I found out my mail gets pushed through their servers. Thanks but no thanks. I hope Apple buys them out & polishes it
For those who use gmail labels: I have one label where the emails from a certain address go straight to that label folder and skip the inbox, but they stay unread so that I get a notification about them. Will this app give you a push notification for those emails? That's the deal maker or breaker for my email needs and I haven't seen anyone address how it handles label notifications.
You shouldn't have an issue. Worst case, you should be fine by simply renaming the label in question to "[Mailbox]/Your Filter" so that it's setup as a "list" in Mailbox as Mailbox handles all of its functions as namespaced labels in Gmail.
You may have to check the filter to make sure that it tracked the change in name, though I don't think that'd be an issue.
Nope. Didn't work for me. When trying to use the same code on my iPad it says it's not valid...
Apple buying a developer?
If they were to do that, I'd point to several jailbreak devs they NEED. But that's not going to happen. iOS 7 will be more of the same. Static and boring.
Intuitive Email Management App 'Mailbox' Now Available in App Store
There are a lot more Cydia developers that I would prefer to be employed by Apple than Orchestra.
If iOS 7 stays the same I will be jumping to the Nexus line or the XPhone or whatever Google stock phone is gonna be.
Apple buying a developer?
There are a lot more Cydia developers that I would prefer to be employed by Apple than Orchestra.
If iOS 7 stays the same I will be jumping to the Nexus line or the XPhone or whatever Google stock phone is gonna be.
I haven't noticed it so far (I've been using it for 3-4 days or so). OTOH I probably wouldn't know if sometimes emails are coming into Mailbox with occasional delay. If I noticed it I'd probably test it.
So far I really love the app. It's really weird opening my web Gmail and seeing a totally blank page!
The only suggestion I have is to slightly shorten the distance required for the delete or move to list functions. Right not you have to drag almost the entire distance, I don't think that's necessary as the feedback is pretty good on what action is going to happen. I think 2/3 length swipe is sufficient to differentiate between the 2 actions.
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I totally get your POV. But I am totally comfortable with the badge showing all items in the inbox, because the whole point of the app is to keep your inbox at zero, and free yourself of the mental exercise of sifting through read/unread emails. So basically every email read or unread is like a task for you to take care of now, or postpone until a later date.
I think the option to have the badge display number of unread messages is fine. But I wonder if this is one of those Apple-like design decisions, where they are basically designing an app for a certain usage workflow, and purposely impose limitations based on that workflow. As you say, the app/service forces you to use a certain workflow, but that very workflow is the entire point of the app.
The good thing is that the label system for lists and snoozed messages seems pretty well thought out to me. If you're on the desktop, you know snoozed items are labeled '[Mailbox]/Later.'
I feel like if you would prefer to keep read messages in your inbox, then other apps (like the Gmail app if you want push and full Gmail features) would probably work better for you anyway.
Got mine early this morning so I had to take a screenshot
I only have 179,553.....179,550 people in front of me.
EDIT: It's moving a lot faster than it was a few days ago.
179,530
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Got mine early this morning so I had to take a screenshot
Showoff!!!!
I still have 147,613 to go....... Calculating rate...... It's gotten just a bit quicker at about 20 a minute, before it was about 19 a minute
HUh?
Why are people complaining about not having immediate access to this? The company's own blog explains why they're releasing it this way, and it's not like you have to do anything besides download the app, enter a code and then be notified when your number is up.
Are those people just looking to bitch about something? It's free! Who cares?
Why are people complaining about not having immediate access to this? The company's own blog explains why they're releasing it this way, and it's not like you have to do anything besides download the app, enter a code and then be notified when your number is up.
Are those people just looking to bitch about something? It's free! Who cares?
LOL. Not sure, I'm not complaining, it's been insanely fast.. I have gone from 340k to 200k in 4 days. I'm just interested in how it works. Plus i kind of like the counter, just seems cool.
For those who have posted about installing on multiple iOS devices, here's a tweet from the devs: