Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry now in testing

It's no secret that using Gmail on a BlackBerry is a painful experience -- since the built-in mail client has shamefully broken IMAP support, your only real choice is a variant of the same Java-based Gmail app that runs on ancient featurephones, and that rules out direct integration with either contacts or attachments. Yeah, it's sad, but hope is in the air, as RIM's apparently beta testing something called the "Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry," which promises to bring things up to speed. Features are said to include Conversation View, support for labels, stars, and archiving, and full mailbox search -- you know, Gmail. Of course, it would be even nicer if RIM would just sack up and bring proper IMAP support to the most famous messaging platform in the world, but we'll take what we can get.

[Via BerryReview]

[carcomptoy Posted Jul 6th 2009 3:00PM]

Why is IMAP so much better and so important? I don't really see a difference except for no more getting sent messages as incoming ones, which is a good thing...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 6th 2009 3:21PM]

IMAP is great for people that wish to access their email with a computer and a mobile device. IMAP allows you to read emails with your mobile device and then see them as read when you check your email using your computer. With true IMAP support you'd be able to (1) send an email on your mobile device and then see that sent email when you check your email on your computer, and (2) send an email on your computer and see that sent email when your use your mobile device.

Currently Blackberry lets you do 1 but not 2, credit to Nilay Patel for explaining this to me.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 7th 2009 12:02PM]

Will this application work without the Blackberry data plan? I use my Blackberry with just the standard cell rate data plan without BIS.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 9th 2009 9:37AM]

I would be thrilled if they even added copy-and-paste support. It's ridiculous that you can't do that in Gmail on BB today.