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Native Gmail Client for iOS is Released [Update: App Pulled]

BaldiMac said:
Again, no respectable developers do this. You are arguing that it is more convenient on Android to use end users as beta testers. That is not acceptable. When has a developer of a desktop app ever released multiple versions to end users multiple days in a row to track down a bug?

Spending a couple hours looking into a problem and saying "Screw it. Let's see if this works." is not how good developers work.
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in mass betas (aka release a beta to the app store) is just another way to speed up things in open beta.

As for desktop app I have seen a few in the beta line hell I know of even some big name games that had multiple updates in a single day. I believe there was a few for TF2 that have some out. Is Valve not a respectable developer?

Some bugs you be missed in and near impossible to fine with a small group of beta testers. Big time for bugs that have happen at random and are not repeatable.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
Turn around and pop a quick new update (1-2 hours) to fix it. Compare to 1 day on Apple.
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If the developer requests it, an update can be pushed out within a couple of hours, not 1 day. Just look at Google+, it received an update 2 hours after it launched in the app store.

Rodimus Prime said:
But iOS beta testers you get what 5-6? Talk about a huge group. Closed betas on Android have higher counts.
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Wait what? Who's fault is that? Apple allows up to 100 devices on 1 account, with 2 accounts that is 200 testers, where do you get 5-6?
 
Deedlez said:
I blinked and missed it!

Interesting that Google is continuing with native iOS apps even while pushing Android. Guess they're just trying to cover all the bases. You can bet Apple wouldn't dream of doing the same - releasing any of their own apps on Android.
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The iPhone is still a critical platform for Google. My bet is that they have made more off the iPhone than Android when you consider the costs involved. Apple has very little to gain by releasing an Android app.
 
tfigs121 said:
How is this any better or different than the default Mail app? I don't know why this app would be necessary or why people are excited about it. Can someone tell me the benefits of this over the Mail app? Thanks.

😕
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It's a native Gmail (as opposed to Mail) app, so you get control over Gmail-specific features not present in generic Mail services. For example, applying labels, including multiple labels (rather than a single folder), archiving/deleting, marking as important/not important, applying stars, Gmail-like conversation view (that shows both incoming and outgoing messages in a single thread).
 
Rodimus Prime said:
in mass betas (aka release a beta to the app store) is just another way to speed up things in open beta.

As for desktop app I have seen a few in the beta line hell I know of even some big name games that had multiple updates in a single day. I believe there was a few for TF2 that have some out. Is Valve not a respectable developer?

Some bugs you be missed in and near impossible to fine with a small group of beta testers. Big time for bugs that have happen at random and are not repeatable.
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You are using a fringe case that would be helpful to bad developers to justify the argument that you made in your original post that was based on incorrect information.

crisss1205 said:
If the developer requests it, an update can be pushed out within a couple of hours, not 1 day. Just look at Google+, it received an update 2 hours after it launched in the app store.
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And that clears that up.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
How does that make a case. If something is going to take 2-3 updates to complete fix it no matter how you cut it how does that make the case for Apple.
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The fact that you can even have 3-4 updates rolled out to end users in a single day is mayhem. I can't believe I just had to explain that.



Michael
 
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I personally like the Mail.app better than this. I use several mail accounts and having them all in one place is a lot easier for me.

If the interface was a lot cleaner maybe I would use it.
 
joeshmo2010 said:
Lol, leave it to google to release a non-finished app. Seriously? How hard is it to actually make sure the "public" version is really ready without major bugs. Do they not run the app before they submit?
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mattwolfmatt said:
It will probably be in beta until 2017.
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vant said:
You guys act surprised that an App from Google has bugs in it.

Obviously you haven't used Google Voice yet.

It's been out for a year or two now, and it STILL CRASHES/HANGS EVERYDAY!

It'll be a long time before I trust Google with my whole operating system.
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rsxmachine said:
If this is a sign of what android is like, I am glad I didn't switch.
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Fanboys, all.

I just want to point out that the Android version of this app works without a hitch. You think maybe...JUST MAYBE...the Google developers either don't like or don't care to write apps the way Apple wants them written? Or maybe, as Apple is inclined to also do, they're sabotaging the situation by half-assing the development effort (see iTunes on Windows, VLC for Mac, Office for Mac, Safari for Windows, Parallels for Windows)?

Just sayin.
 
Oddly, iOS device users have the highest customer satisfaction ratings in every single relevant survey, regardless whether it be smartphone, media player, or tablet categories.

Just sayin'.
 
binarymelon said:
Actually I think the cause of this error is from the submission process. Still Google's fault, but not really something they can test. A little surprising that Apple would push the app through with the error. Google probably gets to bypass the approval process.
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I have two theories: either Apple's iOS AppStore vetting team assumed wrongly that a big name such as Google wouldn't release such a piece of garbage and didn't do their homework properly; or they deliberately let it slip to showcase Google's ineptitude.

Wondersnite said:
Are people actually serious?

Apple releases an iOS update that drains battery life so badly your new $200 + contract iPhone 4S won't even last for a whole day, and it's all fine. But if Google submits a (free) app for a platform that's not even theirs and notifications don't work, everyone's starts bashing them and complaining about user experience.

Am I the only one to think some people here are just plain idiots?
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You really can't compare something as trivial as a native mail client to the awful complexity surrounding a release like iOS5 with all the new stuff it implements (Siri, iCloud, Notification center, WiFi sync and so on...)

Moreover the battery issue, while serious and spread on a significant chunk of users, seems not to affect a majority nor does it make the devices absolutely unusable, notwithstanding the inconvenience of the issue. On the other hand that Gmail app appears to be pretty much useless.

It's already looking bad enough that it took Google over 3 years to release the app for a service (Gmail) that's central to their offer; but that the end-result is THIS disaster is just pathetic.
 
revelated said:
You think maybe...JUST MAYBE...the Google developers either don't like or don't care to write apps the way Apple wants them written?
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Yeah, maybe, but then they should just NOT write the apps at all instead of tarnishing the company image like that.

revelated said:
Or maybe, as Apple is inclined to also do, they're sabotaging the situation by half-assing the development effort (see iTunes on Windows, VLC for Mac, Office for Mac, Safari for Windows, Parallels for Windows)?

Just sayin.
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iTunes on Windows WORKS and does exactly everything it's supposed to do. Safari on Windows can be a pain with its memory leaks, but it's the only browser I can stand in terms of rendering on Windows XP (IE's rendering is okay, but IE is IE; apparently Microsoft is sabotaging itself by half-assing the development effort on its own platform 😛).
 
The app is still worth having over web interface just for push notifications and being able to upload photographs (arrghh Mobile Safari you stupid thing).

I like having seperate accounts in different clients to avoid mixups, which is one of the reasons I was interested in this app in the first place. But Google is terrible at grasping that people have multiple accounts that they need to transition between (actually, none of the big tech companies really seem to get this...), or that families use the same device.

That said, push being completely broken at startup is pretty unforgivable.

Phazer
 
Rodimus Prime said:
Does that apply to everyone or just big name guys like Google?
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I don't know, I'm probably as "small name" as a developer can get. I updated 3 apps a few weeks ago that fixed some bugs with iOS 5 compatibility. All three were approved (admittedly to my surprise) within 24 hours.
 
gglockner said:
I thought we already had a native Gmail reader. It was the built-in mail reader. Sorry, but I can't get too excited about yet another redundant app.
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Thank you! I love the fact that I can check my gmail, personal mail, and work mail in ONE SPOT.
 
vant said:
Yup. You got me. I guess I should stop using Google Search, Voice, Maps, Mail, Chrome, YouTube, and Calendars.
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Apparently you don't understand what it means to be called out. Let me help you...just this once.

You said:

vant said:
You guys act surprised that an App from Google has bugs in it.

Obviously you haven't used Google Voice yet.

It's been out for a year or two now, and it STILL CRASHES/HANGS EVERYDAY!

It'll be a long time before I trust Google with my whole operating system.
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Now, There are numerous issues I have with this quote.

  • You make it seem like Apple is flawless thus you trust their operating system, yet we hear about bugs nearly daily from them. Especially this apparent deal-breaking one with the battery getting eaten almost as fast as the HTC Thunderbolt.
  • You act as though your app experience (Which is on iOS) is going to be the same experience as it is on Android. Which of course is illogical given the half-assing scenarios I already gave.
  • You make it sound as though minor interface jangles with an app that is essentially not a requirement (given the web functions just about the same and you could just use that) that somehow there is a similar problem with Android. Of course, that's having never used it, to understand that Android as an OS is perfectly fine. Ask Samsung if that's the reason they're in the lead.
  • You complain about Google Voice. I happen to use that app on Android and guess what - works perfectly fine.

In summary, instead of bashing Android without ever having used it, how about you back up and try something different? Because I'll tell you...for heavy Google application users, it makes NO logical sense not to have an Android phone. Google apps of course will work better on a Google operating system. Just like Microsoft apps work better on a Microsoft operating system. Just like Apple apps work better on an Apple operating system. Buy the OS that has the apps you use the most! It's not rocket science.

If you want your me.com email and your iTunes music and your iBooks books and your delayed iTunes Match and all that, and you just live in a circle of Apple, then an iPhone makes sense. Anyone who buys an iPhone yet lives in a Google world is a fanboy who bought into a device that they can't maximize their use of. You bought it because it's an iPhone. You bought it because of the Apple logo. Or perhaps you just bought it because someone told you to or you saw everyone else with one and figured you'd ride along.

I've owned an iPhone...and once I realized how limited the Google experience is on that phone compared to Android, I dropped it like it was hot. I depend on Google's apps far more than I need a glass phone.
 
A native Gmail app would have a privacy advantage. For some odd reason, Apple refuses to implement the choice of password protecting their email app. Someone you allow to look at your photos or look something up on Safari can just as easily go through your email.

I'm not sure yet, but I assume a native Gmail app would allow it to be password protected.
 
kas23 said:
A native Gmail app would have a privacy advantage. For some odd reason, Apple refuses to implement the choice of password protecting their email app. Someone you allow to look at your photos or look something up on Safari can just as easily go through your email.

I'm not sure yet, but I assume a native Gmail app would allow it to be password protected.
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Anyone who access your RAZR can prank call using your phone number.

That must be an Apple problem to "refuse to implement" choice. 🙄
 
Anyone using this app have their Gmail account set up with the 2-step authentication process? How does the app handle that? Did you have to create a one time password for it in on your Google account like you do when using the standard iOS mail app? Does it let you use the 2-step authentication process in their app (this is really what I'm looking for). Maybe auto import the rotating key from the Google token app (wishful thinking here)?
 
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