For someone who regularly pays close attention to the bring your own device (BYOD) space, I was hesitant to actually cross that line and merge my personal and work life onto one device. Not because of security threats or risks of compromising data, but just because I wasn’t entirely committed to becoming a 24/7, ‘round the clock available employee. Until today, that is.
Now that I have successfully united my personal and professional e-mail accounts to my iPhone (News - Alert), some things are fairly obvious. I don’t feel as organized, for starters. When I use Gmail on a browser, I am greeted with a color-coded inbox, organized by different labels. On the Microsoft (News - Alert) Outlook client, I have an abundance of folders that I am constantly filling to keep everything in order. While I have the option to go to my Gmail app (colored labels included), the native Mail app on the iPhone is a place I can stay on top of both inboxes on my mobile device. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a grip on prioritizing, organizing and making a dent in both mail accounts through this app.
The company that provides Orchestra To-do, the App Store’s 2011 productivity app of the year, Mailbox has unveiled an e-mail client that has generated so much interest already that a reservation system is now in place. It is a mobile-first e-mail experience built from the ground up, redesigning the inbox for a world on-the-go. A recent survey found that 44 percent of e-mail opens occur on mobile devices, so an app that can help make the mobile e-mail experience a breeze is welcome.
According to AppleInsider, the app is not built as a simple e-mail reader but instead as a type of “to-do” list for e-mails.
“It’s how e-mail on the phone should work: Mailbox checks your e-mail from the cloud and delivers it to your phone with lightning-fast speed. A colorful swipe-based UI makes processing a delight. And unique ‘snooze buttons’ let you put off messages until later,” the company explains.
The app supports multiple accounts and push notifications. For now, Gmail is the only service supported, but the company plans to add support for more services in the future.
“We’ve come to believe email is here to stay. And while we can't get away from it, we can change how we interact with it. We can put email in its place,” the company’s website explains.
The reservation system is currently on a first-come, first-serve basis once the app is available to the public. To reserve your Mailbox, click here.