GeeMail puts offline Gmail on your desktop

GeeMail (download for Windows|Mac) is a standalone Gmail client that runs on Adobe AIR. It looks and feels exactly like Google's Gmail, or at least how it did before the introduction of labs last year. It's big feature is that it lets you view and reply to Gmail messages while offline. Messages are then sent the next time the application detects you have a connection.

Unlike Google's official offline solution that uses Gears, GeeMail is quite a bit faster. It grabbed 1,500 of my most recent messages in just a couple of minutes. This speed, while nice, comes at the expense of downloading a much smaller portion of your inbox than Gmail does. For instance, the app won't pull down Gmail's labeling structure unless you're online. This means that if offline, attempting to sort messages by label after the initial download simply won't work--even if you've downloaded a portion of messages with that same label.

The app will eventually pull in the entirety of your inbox (except for attachments and photos), but it does this in chunks. When you've left it idle for a little while it starts downloading additional segments.

GeeMail looks a lot like Gmail used to look (click to enlarge)

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Search--one of Gmail's most important features--is missing in GeeMail. It's simply not there, which if you're like me and have an unruly inbox with a lot of e-mails, can make the tool relatively useless. I assume later versions will have something that at least lets you dig through the mail it's downloaded. In the meantime you're left sorting by label or trying to remember when you received a message.

Is there any benefit to using this instead of simply linking up your Gmail account to a piece of dedicated software like Outlook Express, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird? I'm not so sure. Those solutions work offline, and grab things like attachments, as well as having their own search and workflow tools.

One thing this app really has going for it though is the feel of the old Gmail, and a faster, leaner way to pull down mail for reading offline. And, if for some reason you can't use Chrome and take advantage of its special application view--which lets you run Gmail as if it was a separate program--this is one of the easier ways to give it that same feeling.

[BlitzBoy1120]

Seems ok, but I find it pointless.

[Daniel_Tunkelang]

No search?!! Look and feel is nice, but that's a pretty big piece of functionality to neglect, given that search is pretty much the only way to hunt down email in your Gmail archives.

[dracoaffectus]

Anyone who would use this might as well just use Chrome to make an application shortcut for Gmail (after enabling Offline Gmail), then you'll have the same thing but better.

[userNoname]

Connects to Gmail via IMAP, which might not work everywhere

[Joetwopointoh]

Is this app creation for its own sake? What is the use of offline mail? Are we running headlong back to the days of dial-up connections? Where are the people who'll benefit from this in sufficient numbers to justify it?

[G-Skaf]

I can't see either why you shouldn't just use your favourite IMAP-capable client to get your messages.

@ Joetwopointoh: Yes. If you're on the move with a laptop, you may not always have a connection. And bear in mind that broadband, always-on connections are not available everywhere, so many people may indeed have to make do with dial-up.

[Frederikrooms]

Well, you can just use thunderbird for 'DOWNLOADING MESSAGES FOR OFFLINE USE' then it's pretty much the same!

And people... do something with Adobe AIR, it's such a good platform. But there are no programs I use everyday except eBay sometimes!

[jkunz001]

@Frederikrooms If you like AIR you will love Titanium. www.appcelerator.com

open source, cross platform support, cross language support...

[pakdoz]

I want access my Gmail everywhere and every time, with or without my laptop, so I think I don't need it. But it seems look good.

[greatghoul]

i approach that the software is senseless.
Gear is enough to use.