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Hot on the heels of Gmail's largely underwhelming release of its iOS app, the Sparrow crew confirmed today on Twitter that an iPhone app is definitely in the works. While we've seen hints that Sparrow was working on an iOS app for some time now, the team threw a zinger Gmail's way by announcing the "Gmail experience you deserve on your iPhone" will be coming in a few months. The desktop Mac OS X Sparrow mail app has built a steady following as an alternative to Apple's default Mail.app with Facebook integration, full Gmail label support, Growl notifications, and a unified inbox.
Comments
Burn.
youtube10 - November 2, 2011
Looks like iOS developers are seeing blood in the water and going after Mail’s weaknesses.
badnewsblair - November 2, 2011
Rightfully so, iOS mail app is pretty stagnant. While the iPad app got the ability to swipe for the inbox which is nice but not a game changer
imchrisblanco - November 2, 2011
Nothing wrong with competition for built-in iOS apps. That will only make the experience for us better.
MayorBloomberg - November 2, 2011
Amen.
ericdontwantnousername - November 4, 2011
I’m not sure if the Gmail app tackled any of those weaknesses.
bgribin - November 2, 2011
Wish i knew what those weaknesses were? Mail seems pretty solid to me. The problem I have with Sparrow is just that it won’t work with Firewalls/Proxies. I was using it at home, but if i want to check my mail while AT work it fails. Feels bad too because Sparrow isn’t free and it doesn’t really work for me, either.
williamsmith - November 2, 2011
Sparrow works fine for me behind my work’s proxy.
slackguy - November 3, 2011
I would pay for the Android K-9 mail app on iOS. I would even pay for it on Android, as the native email app on Android is useless.
KenG_CA - November 2, 2011
I am convinced. If you name your app after a bird, you’re bound to do well.
iPhone users are so fly…
thethirdking - November 2, 2011
Thank GOD. Sparrow is awesome on OSX.
nutbunnies - November 2, 2011
This is what makes the iOS ecosystem so much better to me… Awesome developers know they can provide better app experiences and actually be paid for their hard work. Can’t wait for Sparrow on iOS!!
William Savona - November 2, 2011
I cannot wait for this. Sparrow’s the best mail client ever. Easily.
bgribin - November 2, 2011
Totally agreed. However, do you favor Sparrow even over the new “threaded” Apple Mail client on Lion?
sachlvetica - November 2, 2011
I do. I don’t like the clutter in the native Lion mail app.
Tobi - November 2, 2011
Yup
Thomas Houston - November 2, 2011
Yeh I went back to Mail actually…
d_n - November 2, 2011
THIS IS THE TALE
OF CAPTAIN… IOS SPARROW…? Okay, you can go ahead and cut my throat with a butterknife now.
Joking aside, I really like Sparrow on Mac – it’s godsend on Snow Leopard (I suppose things are better on Lion).
And for the mandatory hipster smug comment: I sure hope the app icon’s gonna be fancy!
mokujitso - November 2, 2011
Wow, that joke…
Thomas Houston - November 2, 2011
if the app is free, great. Otherwise, I won’t use it!
phabriss - November 2, 2011
If it’s as good as the Mac version, I will pay just about any amount for it (within reason).
valenti - November 2, 2011
It’ll probably have a free version – lite, ad-supported, single Gmail account
and a paid full version (like its desktop counterpart).
d_n - November 2, 2011
So, then… what? Welcome to iOS, where great developers make great things for a living.
If you can’t deal with that, then I’m sure you’d love all the wonderful software on the Android platform…
…oh wait…
:3
lolshin - November 3, 2011
“Guys I know we were going to wait to announce our iOS app, but check out this pile of garb google just launch. Lets steamroll ’em.”
cyborgnation - November 2, 2011
Unless iOS allows an app to be designated as default over their own, this won’t work for me. Every time you share something from another app (Photos, for example), up pops the frumpy, built-in Mail.app instead of your sleek, preferred Sparrow. Inelegant. Janky.
This probably wouldn’t bother a great number of people, but I know it would be a dealbreaker for me.
DigitalEl - November 2, 2011
The same goes for 3rd party browsers on iOS.
valenti - November 2, 2011
That’s why I jailbreak. Browser Changer is a sweet hack, and I’m sure someone has, or will soon enough, create a default mail app hack.
RM7 - November 2, 2011
Sparrow for Mac OSX is awesome, spend 7,99 on the pro version and it is worth every penny.
franklindner - November 2, 2011
Love sparrow on the MacBook I’m sure it will be just as great on the iPad.
AdamTylrr - November 2, 2011
If I had an iPhone I’d be extremely excited about this. But alas… I have an Android phone so I’ll just enjoy Sparrow on OSX. Sparrow’s incredible.
KellyRyder - November 2, 2011
I don’t understand the excitement over Gmail apps or the dislike for Mail app. It’s email: I receive it. I send it. That’s all. What is everyone else doing that get’s them so worked up (especially Android users)?
Don’t get me wrong as an email service Gmail is good (I have 6 Google Apps accounts for various email addresses using Gmail). But honestly, short of removing the ability to actually email I don’t see how they can add or remove anything worth getting excited/upset about at this point in its lifespan.
ryan. - November 2, 2011
Ditto!
d_n - November 2, 2011
I agree. I have never understood the hype about the Gmail client on Android. I use Thunderbird because I don’t care enough about any other Gmail features other than reading and sending emails (and occasionally searching on one). Hell, I don’t even use Push notifications because I don’t care if I read emails late. I’ll get to them when I get to them.
RM7 - November 3, 2011
Meh.
jasonwilson - November 2, 2011
I’m kind of excited about this. I use Sparrow on my Mac and I love it. I will definitely give this app a shot once it hits the app store.
tec2030 - November 2, 2011
This is great, but how much will it cost?
jaowens - November 2, 2011
nice!
PedroLC - November 2, 2011
Glad to see this come to ios. Sparrow for mac is a great replacement to Mail.
ohnolee - November 2, 2011
Nicely done! I really love Sparrow.
Scape3d - November 3, 2011 via mobile
A few months?
niels.tromper - November 3, 2011
I need separate email signatures as I want one for work email and non for personal email. Plus I don’t want it to auto check email in the evenings and at weekends. Can’t wait for Sparrow as at a minimum I’ll just use it for work client, and then use the inbuilt app for personal.
Northernrich - November 5, 2011
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