Google Revs Up Gmail, Calendar For Android, Apple iPhones
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said that it was able to boost the functionality of both features by using aggressive caching and through new browser technologies, such as HTML5 and Gears.
On a company blog, Google said it completely re-architected the code for the services so that users will get a more consistent performance. The user interface has also been refreshed, which makes it easier to perform batch actions.
The Gmail revamp lets users perform tasks faster, such as opening e-mails, navigating and searching, said Joanne McKinley, engineer, Google Mobile, in a company blog.
McKinley said her fingers were getting sore from all the scrolling she did to archive e-mails. Now when users select a message, they'll see an ever-present "floaty bar" that appears on the top of the screen that allows them to archive or delete messages. Users can also start the application, compose mail, and open recently read messages even when they're offline.
With the new Google Calendar, users can edit details of events from their mobile browsers, and can change attendance status, event details, and add or remove guests, said Jyri Engestrom, product manager, Google Mobile, on another company blog.
The new Google Calendar for mobile supports iPhone OS 2.2.1 and all Android-powered phones, but is currently available only in English.
In his blog, Shyam Sheth, product manager, Google Mobile, said that the company has been introducing more Web apps so that users can experiment with them and provide feedback to Google as to whether they should "invest further in that direction or move on."
Sheth said that using the browser as a delivery platform lets users see new feature releases more often because the company can share code across devices.
"Looking at this release of Gmail, there is 90 percent-plus code [that is] shared between the Android and iPhone experience," he said. "As new devices come on the market with high-end browsers, most of the work is already done. (Hint to OEMs: You provide a world-class browser, we'll make sure Gmail and Calendar for mobile works on your platform.)"