First Look: Google Adds Task Listing To Gmail

For a few years, Microsoft has made a task list a neat feature inside Outlook—a function that allows users to keep a running checklist of the stuff they need to do all day—and integrated it tightly into its e-mail and calendaring.

Now Google is matching that functionality by adding a "tasks" function to Gmail. According to Google's Gmail blog:

"People use Gmail to get stuff done, so we've added a lightweight way to keep track of what you need to do, right from within Gmail. . . . We put your tasks in the same kind of window as chats, so they're visible while you're scanning your inbox, reading mail, or searching (and in Settings, too!). Just pop your list out into a new window to use Tasks outside of Gmail."

An "actions" bar at the bottom of the task list allows a user to move a task up or down, indent, unindent, clear a completed task and view completed tasks with just a couple of clicks. For those who have never used a tasking feature in Office or other productivity suites, Gmail Tasks may get them hooked.

It's simple, it's free and, importantly, it works. It's also very portable. Because Google is hosting the task list (like it does Gmail or Google Docs), it's easy to sign on and retrieve it over a network regardless of what PC, notebook or operating system you might be working on. It's a small addition to Google's toolbox of productivity applications, but it may very well be an important one if it can draw in users. Time will tell.