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Email client Postbox hits beta 14, goes pro
Postbox is an email client based on Mozilla Thunderbird. But it has a number of features you won't find in Thunderbird, including Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed integration. That makes Postbox more than a simple email client. It's a communications hub. It also has a task list, and thanks to support for add-ons, including the Lightning calendar extension, you can customize the application to add even more functions.
Today the Postbox team released beta 14 of the email client, and also announced support for another plugin that lets you sync your contact data with Google and Zimbra. There's also a new theme for Windows Vista and 7, and a handful of other updates. That's the good news.
The other announcement Postbox made today is that the company will begin charging for Postbox when it leaves beta. A single license will set you back $29.95, plus $9.95 per license for up to 5 members of your household. You can also purchase lifetime upgrades for an extra $19.95. Those are the prices for customers that pre-order. The prices will go up a bit after August 31st.
Overall, the pricing sounds pretty reasonable, but only if you think Postbox offers enough features that you need which aren't already available in the free Thunderbird email client.
[via gHacks]
Comments
15
Subscribe to commentsDAJJul 28th 2009 2:33PM
6 months ago at TechCrunch they said it would be free
http://www.techcrunch50.com/2008/conference/presenter.php?presenter=75
14 minutes 50 into the video.....
MollyJul 28th 2009 2:31PM
reasonable? i love those rip-offs trying to capitalize on open source software.
Brad LinderJul 28th 2009 2:33PM
Open Source doesn't necessarily mean free. It just means you can't keep the source code locked up behind closed doors. In other words, someone could always take the Postbox source and release a free version of the app. But it probably goes without saying that you wouldn't get tech support from the Postbox team for that version.
iofthestormJul 30th 2009 11:08AM
@Brad: Postbox itself isn't free. They don't release the changes they made on top of Thunderbird, they just tell you to get the Thunderbird source. I've been using it for a while but with this announcement I'm going back to Thunderbird because their attitude is really damaging to open source. I also hate how they've been holding back on addons for so long. At first it was pretty nice compared to the glacial development of Thunderbird 3, but now I think anyone who isn't trying to throw away money will just go with Thunderbird. Postbox really adds nothing that can't be done in an extension.
MegaMeJul 28th 2009 2:43PM
I hope it will BETA forever lol
MEJul 28th 2009 2:46PM
Then hope for Google to buy it.
DAJJul 28th 2009 2:46PM
Also, odd that the screen shot used here shows a calendar page which is not really part of PostBox -- it is an extension by a third party!
Brad LinderJul 28th 2009 2:48PM
Yeah, but it's new. I could have posted a screenshot of the email interface, but it would have looked just like the screenshot we used in our last two articles about Postbox.
SockstenJul 29th 2009 7:39AM
Sorry Postbox, I'll never use you unless you're free.
VirtuousJul 29th 2009 7:39AM
Paid Postbox = DOA
Jash SayaniJul 29th 2009 7:39AM
DOES THE BETA EXPIRE ??
I am using Postbox beta12 and was wondering if the beta is set to expire on a certain date?? If not, I am happy with the current version.
MelicerteJul 29th 2009 7:39AM
AFAIK, Postbox is neither free software, nor Open Source.
TB 3 is coming and one of its target is to facilitate the development, dissemination and use of extensions. Once out, I'm pretty sure that if any of the Postbox feature looks promising, it will be sooner or later available as TB extention.
BTW, Thunderbird development team is doing a great job. Check the changes in Thunderbird 3 Beta 3 to get an idea of what is going on right now:
http://www.rumblingedge.com/2009/07/21/thunderbird-3-beta-3-released/
iofthestormJul 30th 2009 11:08AM
I agree. I originally thought PB would be open source so I started using it, but now that they've shown their true colors and TB3 development has picked up, I've switched back to Thunderbird. Back when Postbox first arrived in beta Thunderbird 3 nightlies were horrible, but now the betas are really nice.
MelicerteJul 29th 2009 7:40AM
Also, althought they plan to make money out of it, I don't know if Postbox plans to return anything to the community?
turuJul 29th 2009 2:16PM
of course not. see, they are capitalist.