Gmail goes Offline!

Ever had one of those days when you’ve got a million things in your inbox and that you don’t have all the time in the world to read them? And suddenly the only time available to be able to read your messages would be the time when you don’t have internet access at all? Well, worry not, because if you’re on Gmail, it now allows you to messages, star and label them, and do all of the things you’re used to doing while reading your webmail.

Ever since Google Gears first came out, the one feature I’ve been waiting for (and caring about) would be Google Gears for Gmail. It seems like a pretty obvious deal: instead of using Outlook, Thunderbird and other email clients, you can do most everything you need to do with Gmail inside a web browser. You can now access your Gmail from your browser any time, whether or not you’re online.

Now that Gmail offers offline access, all you need to do is to activate it. First step would be to download and install Google Gears, of course. The you need to log on to your Gmail account, then go to Settings, and then click on to the Labs tab, and switch on Offline Gmail.

Once you turn on this feature, Gmail uses Gears to download a local cache of your mail. As long as you’re connected to the network, that cache is synchronized with Gmail’s servers. When you lose your connection, Gmail automatically switches to offline mode, and uses the data stored on your computer’s hard drive instead of the information sent across the network.

Composing emails in offline mode puts them in your outbox, and those emails are automatically sent once you’re back online. There’s even a “Flaky Connection Mode,” which is sort of like a middle ground between online and offline Gmail. So if you have a bad connection and you want to check your mail, Flaky Connection Mode lets you surf Gmail without any interruptions.