Enterprise Applications - eWeek

Enterprise Applications: Five Gmail Labs Features We Need and 5 We Can Live Without


Gmail Labs was launched in June 2008 to let Google's Gmail team throw some new experimental tools against the Google wall and see what sticks. In a year's time, the team has thrown out roughly two dozen features to improve user experience, with the idea that some of the features wouldn't make the final cut. In July 2009, Google closed the book on right-side labels, triggering a minor furor from users who loved the feature. In the blog post explaining the reason for removing right-side labels, the Gmail Labs team hinted that it will retire other features. Gmail is now no longer a beta, so Google will likely look more seriously at what tools it intends to keep, with consumers and business users in mind. eWEEK looks at five Gmail Labs tools that users won't be able to live without, followed by five tools we believe the team can jettison.
 
  • Five Gmail Labs Features We Need and 5 We Can Live Without
    by Clint Boulton
  • Offline Access
    Offline access to data is table stakes, particularly for users who want to access their Gmail from the skies during a flight.
  • Google Search and Autocomplete
    These tools are vital for Gmail users who need them to ferret out contacts and other search terms in their cluttered in-boxes.
  • Google Apps Gadgets
    Integration with other Google Apps, such as Calendar and Docs (shown here), is a crucial feature for users, particularly those who work in Gmail.
  • Mark as Read Button
    We can't tell you how much time we spent combing through e-mails repeatedly before this feature came into being.
  • Insert Image
    The ability to add images to e-mail is particularly important at a time when words don't always tell the whole story. You can't explain a pie chart.
  • Extra Emoji
    No one needs this many emoticon options.
  • Mail Goggles
    A hoot for beer-swilling twenty-somethings, but no one wants to do math before sending e-mail. We feel the Undo Send tool is protection enough.
  • Inbox Preview
    We can't tell you exactly what is annoying about this feature, but it grates on the nerves. When your in-box loads, the contents flash for a quick 2 seconds or so, but not long enough to glean any useful information. Must be an attention-grabbing tactic.
  • Canned Responses
    Not as bad as Mail Goggles, but still. If you have to have stock responses to contacts, maybe you need your e-mail automatically generated.
  • E-Mail Addict
    Even if it renders us invisible in chat, when we use this feature, we can still see the screen in the background, so it's not exactly hiding much.
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