Mobile Minute: BlackBerry may get an enhanced Gmail plug-in

by Victor Agreda, Jr. on July 7, 2009 at 02:00 PM

Gmail on the BlackBerry has come a long way in a short while. When I first starting using the Java app (as opposed to the site in BB's rather crummy browser on my 8800) it was pretty limited. Only one draft email at a time, limited support for some of Gmail's best features, etc. Now, however, it works... better. You can star items, check archives, move things around a bit, work in offline mode and create multiple drafts. I'm not saying it is perfect, but mobile users are conditioned to being second-class netizens when it comes to application features. But this may change.

Google is experimenting with an enhanced Gmail plug-in that will supposedly bring conversations, labels, stars and so forth available on lesser beasts than the iPhone. Speaking of iPhone, I'm still amazed there's no native Gmail app seeing as how Apple's Mail tool doesn't "do" much with Gmail's features (stars, labels, etc.) and the mobile Safari version is superior in almost every way to Apple's Mail. Perhaps Google will release a proper iPhone app around the time they release this now-beta plug-in. We'll keep you posted on both fronts.

In the meanwhile, if you're a power user who likes to try new things, you can sign up for the RIM Beta program and see if they let you play with new stuff.

[via Engadget and BerryReview]

Tags: beta, blackberry, email, gmail, mobile minute, MobileMinute, plug-in