Comments on: Google shows Web-based offline Gmail on iPhone

Company touts a powerful "technology concept" of Gmail running in a browser on the iPhone--and on the latest Android.

[flickrz]

What they demonstrated was more to do with new HTML5 standard than offline gmail.

[scottthesculptor]

wow! what a "technical concept"!
Just like using the 2400baud modem on the BBSes in th 1980s
log on, download your messages, upload your responses and log off.
then read and respond offline.
brilliant!

I'm constantly amazed.

[Shankland]

I'd argue that being able to check your e-mail with your mobile phone is a pretty significant change from the days when CompuServe ruled the world. Also, the ability to program a Web site that permits many phones to get that access is significant. A standard iPhone lets you read your e-mail offline, too, but not use important Gmail-specific features such as search and labels.

[michaelportent]

This is pretty awesome for people like me with the iTouch. I'm constantly drifting in and out of WiFi signals. It'd be nice to just download my mail at one hot spot, make all my responses and send my changes at the next one.

[Vegaman_Dan]

I agree 100%. The Apple mail client only works if you have a network connection present if you want t odo anything more than just read the mail.

[mscmobile]

I wrote a tutorial about the technologies behind the GMail offline demo. You can find it here: http://blog.msc-mobile.com/2009/03/03/1236073555483.html

[Hugh_Isaacs_II]

Just to note (though this comment is quite late).

Gears and the HTML5 offline spec are nearly one in the same, just that one requires a few extra lines of javascript (to note Google made both the new HTML5 spec and Gears).

To put it simply Gears is a way to prototype features in HTML5.

[karen-mobile]

Surely you only use gmail on iphones on the go as a temporary solution and then later download to your computer anyway.

[url="http://mobilephones.name"] karen [/url]

Or am I missing something?!