The Appeal of MailBox?

[trevorcaudill]

I feel like I'm the only one who isn't overly ecstatic about this application. As someone with multiple e-mails across several different services the last thing that I want to do is start downloading a bunch of client specific apps to manage my e-mails. The convenience of keeping all of my e-mails managed under the default mail client is superior to the better design/niche features within apps like MailBox.

Do you MailBox users prefer separate e-mail applications or are there really that many of you who exclusively use G-mail?

 

[jclisenby]

I feel like I'm the only one who isn't overly ecstatic about this application. As someone with multiple e-mails across several different services the last thing that I want to do is start downloading a bunch of client specific apps to manage my e-mails. The convenience of keeping all of my e-mails managed under the default mail client is superior to the better design/niche features within apps like MailBox.

Do you MailBox users prefer separate e-mail applications or are there really that many of you who exclusively use G-mail?

First, to answer your question, the majority of people do use Gmail exclusively as their provider. It's one if the worlds largest and has the widest feature set and availability. Plus, the servers have virtually zero issues or downtime.

Mailbox does everything that the native mail client does, plus more. It brings all your accounts together and gives you total control. It's an awesome product and its even better than the official Gmail app for iOS, which is a top-notch app.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

 

[trevorcaudill]

First, to answer your question, the majority of people do use Gmail exclusively as their provider. It's one if the worlds largest and has the widest feature set and availability. Plus, the servers have virtually zero issues or downtime.

Mailbox does everything that the native mail client does, plus more. It brings all your accounts together and gives you total control. It's an awesome product and its even better than the official Gmail app for iOS, which is a top-notch app.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

Thanks for the reply.

So, by "bringing all of your accounts together" your referring to gmail accounts, correct? I just want to make sure the exclusive to gmail users impression I was under is accurate.

 

[jclisenby]

Thanks for the reply.

So, by "bringing all of your accounts together" your referring to gmail accounts, correct? I just want to make sure the exclusive to gmail users impression I was under is accurate.

Yeah. It has to be a Google mail account. That's not necessarily just Gmail. It can be any email account hosted by Google. Many companies and schools use Google accounts for their mail. I have my college account that's a .edu and my work account both on Mailbox.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

 

[trevorcaudill]

Yeah. It has to be a Google mail account. That's not necessarily just Gmail. It can be any email account hosted by Google. Many companies and schools use Google accounts for their mail. I have my college account that's a .edu and my work account both on Mailbox.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

Alright thanks, I have two work emails through Google and a personal email for YouTube, but the remaining ones are through Outlook.

Hopefully one day a client will be able to utilize all of the various services.

 

[jclisenby]

Alright thanks, I have two work emails through Google and a personal email for YouTube, but the remaining ones are through Outlook.

Hopefully one day a client will be able to utilize all of the various services.

Yeah, it won't be much help with Outlook. But if that's the service you like, stick with it.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

 

[jclisenby]

A lot of people do use gmail but a a lot don't. I thought the total of hotmail/live.com/outlook.com was still larger than gmail. Yahoo still has a whole lot too. But most early adopters of an app like Mailbox probably do have gmail.

I have a personal gmail account but an Exchange account for work. I did get into Mailbox late yesterday but I'm not sure if its worth it to me because my personal mail is rarely time sensitive. So the "email into a to-do list" aspect of Mailbox doesn't help me much. Mailbox also wanted me to enable my "All Mail" folder in gmail which I don't like and turned off since I didn't see the need to have messages in multiple places (both All Mail and the folder I filed it in).

But the design is beautiful. Just not sure if it works for me yet.

Yeah, the combined number of Outlook, Hotmail, and Yahoo address is higher than Gmail. But most that use those either have them for work or aren't they type that looks for new technology in an app like mailbox.

Gmail users are the current target audience because they are typically younger and more cutting edge. It's also easier on their servers to pick a single service to start with. Gmail would provide the the largest exposure right away.

They have said that full support for other platforms is coming, along with more features and paid versions of the app. Expect this service to grow into something big, unless it gets scooped up by Google, Apple, or Microsoft to enhance their email offerings.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

 

[kch50428]

The thing about this app that is being overlooked is this from their web site...

Mailbox is an app that helps you manage your email from your mobile device. When you add your Gmail account, you authorize Mailbox to securely access your messages using an authentication method called OAuth. Your passwords are never stored on our servers. Our servers securely store a subset of your messages temporarily: this lets us give you the fastest possible access to important messages, like new or deferred emails. Of course, you retain any ownership and intellectual property rights you have in the content in your email (see the Copyright section of these Terms for more detail).

I'm just not too keen on my any of my mail even temporarily residing anywhere but my service providers' mail servers.

 

[jclisenby]

The thing about this app that is being overlooked is this from their web site...


I'm just not too keen on my any of my mail even temporarily residing anywhere but my service providers' mail servers.

They aren't taking your messages or passwords. The messages just do a pass through on their servers to trigger the push and appear in the app.

So many people worry so much about security when it's not really an issue. All the services these days are heavily encrypted. Plus, if a hacker wants your info, there's not much you can do to stop the good ones.

There's always BlackBerry 7 if you're looking for top-notch security.


Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5

 

[kch50428]

There's always BlackBerry 7 if you're looking for top-notch security.

iPhone's security is quite fine - it's someone else's servers between my phone and my mail provider's that are a point where something nefarious can happen no matter how much security they claim to have/use. I know nothing is 100% impervious to hacking activity... in my book, the fewer chances the better.

 

[Alli]

This has been my concern from day one. I don't need my email going from my email server (whether it's Google, 1and1, or any of the other hosting services I use) anywhere else before arriving on my phone. I won't sacrifice security for the sake of "pretty." I don't find what Mailbox offers functional enough to be appealing - especially when I can't use it for all my accounts. And, as Karen pointed out, I hate the All Mail in Gmail.

 

[phreddyl]

This has been my concern from day one. I don't need my email going from my email server (whether it's Google, 1and1, or any of the other hosting services I use) anywhere else before arriving on my phone. I won't sacrifice security for the sake of "pretty." I don't find what Mailbox offers functional enough to be appealing - especially when I can't use it for all my accounts. And, as Karen pointed out, I hate the All Mail in Gmail.

Do you like 1and1? We use it at work and I hate the way spam is handled. It's such a project having to "white list" someone. Way too many steps.

 

[Alli]

Do you like 1and1? We use it at work and I hate the way spam is handled. It's such a project having to "white list" someone. Way too many steps.

My second job uses 1and1, but then forwards everything to Gmail. I still don't understand the rationale, and I know we wind up missing things.

 

[Alli]

Hey! Someone else who agrees with All Mail hatred. And you have to have it on for Mailbox to work. I don't think I've ever known anyone else who hated All Mail.

Oh my goodness - everyone I know hates All Mail! I just don't even see why it exists.