Crave

Gmail has long had keyboard shortcuts, though learning them can be difficult. Enter the Gboard, a specialized mini-keyboard for Google's e-mail service. It debuts this Friday at an asking price of $19.99.

The Gboard consists of 19 colored keys set in a standard size numpad-only keyboard. Clicking on any one of these performs that particular keyboard shortcut. Included are Gmail-specific features such as starring messages, starting a search, and jumping between message threads. Outside of Gmail they simply act as normal keyboard buttons, and will type in whatever letter or number corresponds with that shortcut.

The device is powered by USB and requires no special software or drivers, however users need to first enable keyboard shortcuts within Gmail's settings before using it. Also worth noting is that it was created not by Google, but by Charlie Mason, a film producer from Venice, Calif. This is his first foray into the computer hardware business.

The Gboard consists of 19 keys, all of which act as shortcuts within Google's Gmail Web mail service.

(Credit: James Martin / CNET)

This really is a product that users will either love or hate. Those who have mastered Gmail's shortcuts will see little need to buy special hardware and find a spare USB port to plug it into. Meanwhile, newbie users may be unwilling to take the plunge on such a specific peripheral for a program that works only within another program (the browser). The Gboard runs the risk of being an unappealing prospect to both parties.

It's also not the first attempt at easing the process of learning and remembering shortcuts. This time last year Google offered users a free pack of color-coded shortcut stickers that could be tacked onto any keyboard. There have also long been specialized keyboards for video and audio editing as well as graphical design--all of which provide similar, color-coded keys. Users who don't want to commit, or tack stickers on their keyboard, also have the option of buying a silicone keyboard mat, though no such thing has been created for Gmail.

Considering there are a total of 69 Gmail shortcuts (with more on the way if Google graduates some of its experimental features from its labs section) the Gboard could just be the first step toward creating a full-size (100 plus key) version. In the meantime, its early December release and low price tag make for a good stocking stuffer if you've got a Gmail lover in your family.

The good:
• No setup required
• Color coding is logical and makes it easy to learn the keys
• Good build quality and feel; keys are flat like on a laptop
• At $19.99 it's not that expensive. Most numeric-only keyboards cost about the same.

The bad:
• Does not come close to including all of Gmail's shortcuts
• Could be rendered less useful if Gmail's shortcuts change
• Only comes in one color (black)

Earlier this week, I bashed Google's visual voice mail service for its inability to transcribe my voice messages into understandable English. (OK, most of the article really focuses on a new flexibility in Google Voice, which I do like.) To be fair, poor transcription isn't all Google's fault. They're offering a free service based on a computer-aided technology that improves each year. The real problem is that machine transcription just isn't good enough.

Up until yesterday, I hadn't received more than a handful of visual voice mail message translations imbued with any meaning in my native tongue. In fact, I turned off SMS forwarding because I couldn't handle the streams of nonsensical texts that would pour in for each voice mail left. Thankfully, I won't miss the yucks stemming from mismatched voice-to-text at all, not when I can still read the messages in my online Google Voice in-box over and over again.

Do you have any favorite mistranslations produced by free computer-aided transcription engines? Share yours in the comments--or better yet, e-mail me if you'd like to take place in our anonymous gallery--and I'll share three errata from my in-box below.

The longer the message, the more creative the transcription.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Despite its brevity, the only accurate word in this transcription is "hello."

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

That's right! You go and procure the message, people!

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Whenever you hear "Wah-wah-wah," you know you've got mail from Dave.

You've already got individual ringtones set up for your boss, your spouse, and other important people. MailTones brings that same concept to e-mail, playing custom sounds when you receive messages from those certain special senders.

Using the $2.99 app [iTunes link] requires two things: That your iPhone is configured for push e-mail (fetched automatically, not manually) and that your e-mail server has the option of forwarding copies of new messages to another address.

Gmail, for example, makes this a snap, as does MobileMe. As for other services and servers, well, you'll have to find out if forwarding is an option. If not, this isn't the app for you.

With that single step completed, however, all that remains is to configure MailTones' alerts, which offer three options.

Friend Matching works like call-based ringtones: You get an alert when you receive mail from a specific person. (However, you can't just enter someone's e-mail address; you have to choose someone already in your address book. Minor gripe.)

Subject Matching sounds an alert when the subject line contains one or more keywords. And Domain Matching targets mail from specific domains (like, say, the office).

For each match you set up, you can choose from 25 available tones, which range from short, simple "dingtones" (my word) to boisterous cowbells, ship horns, and fire sirens.

Suffice it to say, most people get a lot more e-mail than they do phone calls, and it's easy to experience alert overload. Consequently, you'll almost certainly want to set the New Mail tone to "Ignore" so you don't get interrupted every 10 seconds.

At the same time, turn on Show Alerts, which provides a text message-like pop-up (with the sender's name and subject line) along with the audio alert. That way you'll know if the message is important enough to warrant a full-on visit to Mail.

MailTones is an idea whose time has come. If you're tired of pulling out your iPhone every five minutes to see if that new message is something important, now you've got an audio-cue alternative. Indeed, for anyone inundated by e-mail, MailTones is $2.99 well spent.

Mail-in rebates are a pain in the neck. I'd stop short of calling them a scam, but I really don't like the fact that they seem to rely on consumers' forgetfulness and/or laziness.

And there doesn't seem to be any oversight--as far as I can tell, there's nobody watching to see if a company happens to "lose" a few rebate forms.

But I also know people who've had incredible luck with mail-in rebates and save money often. I even know one person who filled out one rebate form and got two checks back from Acer a couple of years back!

CNET blogger Rick Broida asked a good question in a post Thursday. Has the reliability of mail-in rebates improved? While the jury is still out on that one, we'd like to know how our gadget-attentive Crave readers feel. Which statement best describes your current thinking on mail-in rebates?

We couldn't record today's Podcast without spending a little time on Gizmodo's big unveiling of Microsoft's secret tablet PC. The blog is reporting that even though our first inclination is to call it a tablet, it's really more of a booklet, with two 7-inch(ish) screens with multitouch, a 3MP camera on the back, and a fancy stylus for clicking, writing, dragging, and drawing. In typical 404 fashion, we have to poke fun at the fact that while a long plastic pen is very innovative, we wish it had fully functioning voice recognition, but as we've seen from the Google iPhone app, that technology will likely never be perfected. In the meantime, it looks like the Microsoft booklet will materialize before the fabled Apple tablet.

Speaking of Apple, Wilson and I are very psyched for Google to finally release push e-mail support on Google Sync for the iPhone. This means there will always be a connection to Google's servers to keep your mailbox up to date. There's no additional application necessary, just head to m.google.com/sync from your computer and follow these instructions.

If you're a long-time 404 listener, you'll remember a few months back when my iPhone camera stopped working and the Apple Genius at the store told me that my phone had somehow been submerged in water, judging by the indication on the external water sensor. Well as it turns out, that liquid sensor is a filthy liar. There are actually two liquid sensors on the phone, an internal and an external, which more often than not, tell contradicting stories. If a Genius sees the external one is triggered, the official Apple protocol tells them to report that the warranty is now void and Apple is no longer responsible for fixing the damaged phone. More importantly, the protocol says not to open iPhones and check the internal sensor. If you've had a similar experience, we want to hear about it, but you should also head back to the Apple store and ask them to open up the phone and double-check it. Who knows, you might leave with a brand-new iPhone.

Microsoft is offering a $50 mail-in rebate on the Elite through October 5.

Nobody likes a mail-in rebate, but if you're the patient type who doesn't mind waiting to get your cash back on your purchase, Microsoft will send you $50 if you buy the Xbox 360 Elite between now and October 5 (this is for U.S. customers only).

While you'll have to fill out all the requisite paperwork to get the discount, that mail-in rebate drops the price of the Elite--which only a short time ago cost $400--down to $250. Details of the rebate are here.

As other blogs have pointed out, that $50 might come in handy to buy an HDMI cable, Wi-Fi adapter, or a game. All we can say is, thank you, Sony, for dropping the price of the PS3 to $299. There's nothing like a good price war to keep things interesting in the game-console space.

Comments?

(Source: Joystiq via Major Nelson)

Updated 5:45 p.m. PDT with more details about e-mail push.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Some of you who have been restlessly awaiting the arrival of Google's official Gmail push solution for mobile phones can relax now. On Tuesday, Google expanded the over-the-air syncing capabilities in its Google Sync service to include Google's e-mail--but only for the iPhone and iPod Touch (version 3.0), and for Windows Mobile phones.

Google Sync began as a beta service to sync Google calendar items and contacts to iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Symbian Series 60 phones. Owners of iPhones, iPod Touches, and Windows Mobile phones can now set it up to include Gmail messages as well.

The phones will receive Google Sync messages through their native e-mail, calendar, and address book apps. Depending on your settings, your phone could vibrate and/or chime to let you know that a new message has come in. Note that Google Sync will not push visual notification boxes to iPhone and iPod Touch interfaces. For that, you'll need third party apps like GPush for iPhone. Instead, it pushes e-mail from the server to the phone, rather than pulls in a list of e-mail messages, a request that the phone's e-mail client makes of the server. Push e-mail is often preferred over "pulled" e-mail for its real-time updates and its lower toll on battery life.

BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian Series 60 users won't have access to pushed Gmail yet, but they can still sync calendar and contact events to the phone's built-in address book and calendar.

To get started, visit m.google.com/sync from your desktop or mobile browser. The step-by-step setup process is best navigated from your computer, and will require you to ultimately configure your phone to sync over the Microsoft Exchange Server.

Related story: Gmail push on iPhone? Meet GPush

An AppleInsider report cites an anonymous tip claiming Apple and AT&T may be working on two enhancements for the iPhone specific to AT&T's network:

• Overage alerts would notify users via push notification badges, messages, or sounds when they approach their monthly anytime minutes limit.
• New voice mail options would let users disable the custom voice mail greeting (including AT&T's standard voice mail introduction) and allow them to skip greetings (standard or otherwise) or other automated instructions when calling other AT&T customers.

Unfortunately, the tipster mentioned no warnings from AT&T for overages in other services such as text messaging, international calling, or international data plans. The voice mail options sound like AT&T's answer to David Pogue's Take Back the Beep Campaign.

Would you find these enhancements useful? Would additional warnings for international calling plans help prevent overages that are known to get rather expensive? Let us know in the comments.

A video posted recently on YouTube demonstrates, on an iPod Touch, a potential security risk for users of iPhone OS 3.0. The bug allows e-mails that have already deleted to be viewed by searching for the title of the deleted message.

The results of the search display two copies of the message. Selecting either one of these the first time will cause Mail to crash. The second time you select the messages, the iPhone may display the original message or you may get a warning that states: "Message cannot be displayed because of the way it is formatted." You should note that the message is displayed in Mail as "1 of 0" and it is "partially downloaded." The download button used to retrieve the remainder of the message doesn't work.

Fortunately, one developer said this problem appears to have been resolved in iPhone OS 3.1 beta 3, since the developer was not able to recreate the bug after upgrading.

Update 08/19/09 at 8:19 PM PDT: The iPhone OS bug described in this post does not affect IMAP e-mail accounts, but it does affect POP e-mail accounts.