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Google today announced a combination of cloud data storage limits. Rolling out over the next couple of weeks to all users, the search engine is allocating a total of 15GB to users, shared across Gmail, Google+, and Google Drive. Business customers are offered 30GB of unified storage shared between the Google Drive and Gmail services.
Google has launched an updated version of its Gmail app for iOS, introducing support for opening links in their respective apps. Available since 2011, the official Gmail app has also included support for opening links, however, prior to this update directed users to a browser for all links. YouTube, Google Maps and Chrome links all direct to their respective apps unless the setting is disabled within the app. Additionally, the update also adds support for signing out of a single account when multiple identities are active.
Google has updated the iOS Gmail app to v2.1, adding a pair of important changes. Users can now swipe left or right within an email to continue reading other messages, instead of having to return to the Inbox first. Selecting a message in the Inbox turns on Edit mode, making it easier to perform actions in bulk, like archivals and deletions.
Google has updated the designs of the Gmail web app as well as Gmail Offline, its Chrome extension, according to an official Google+ post. In both circumstances the updates carry over UI changes that first debuted in a December overhaul of the native iOS app. The new web app is accessible not only on iOS but on Android, BlackBerry, and the Kindle Fire.
Google has claimed victory against account hijackers, claiming the number of legitimate accounts compromised by spammers has dropped by 99.7 percent since 2011. The company's latest security protocols have been developed in response to a surge in account hijacking starting in 2010, as cyber criminals began using stolen passwords to distribute spam from legitimate accounts in an attempt to bypass ever strengthening spam filters, according to a blog post from Google security engineer Mike Hearn.
Gmail users who rely on the email service to place telephone calls caught a break this holiday season, as Google announced that it would be extending the free telephone call feature in Gmail through next year. The extension is applicable for users in the United States and Canada, and it applies to domestic telephone calls. Since introducing the feature in 2010, Google has, each year, extended free calling for US and Canada customers.
Google won't be rolling out apps for its Gmail or Google Drive apps for Microsoft's Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 platforms in the near future. This according to the product management director at Google Apps, who says that the company has not seen any indication of interest in apps for the new generation of Windows. Instead, Google is committed to continually growing and improving its app suite on iOS and Android.
Google has released a major overhaul of its Gmail app for iOS, v2.0. Users can now manage multiple accounts through the app, which has also been given a new, "cleaner" look, more consistent with other Google iOS apps like Google+. Gmail has in fact gained support for interactive Google+ posts, as well as the ability to respond to Google Calendar invites inline.
The return of Google's Nexus 4 to the Canadian Play Store appears to have been as brief as return in other countries, as Canadian buyers will now see the 8GB model listed as out of stock and the 16GB model shipping in six to seven weeks. Google sent out word earlier today that the device would be available at 12:00 PM PST for Canadian Play Store shoppers, but Electronista's most recent look at the Nexus 4's product page indicates that it has sold out within a half-hour of becoming available.
In the near future, a software update will give owners of Samsung's Galaxy Note II versions of YouTube and Gmail that are compatible with the device's novel multi-window feature. This according to the Twitter account for Samsung Support USA, which confirmed that the feature would be "available soon." The multi-window feature allows users to split their screens to show multiple apps at the same time, but not all apps are compatible with it.
Google has made a pair of significant tweaks to its online services. Gmail, notably, now allows users to attach up to 10GB to an email via Google Drive, versus the 25MB the service normally allows. This has some limitations however; people must, for instance, opt into the new Compose function, and recipients with dedicated email clients won't automatically have access to a locally-stored file. In effect Gmail is simply generating links to Google Drive, though this does ensure that recipients have the latest version of an item.
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The Gmail team is now testing out an improvement to the user interface for the popular web email service, one that alters the message compose and reply interface in order to make it easier to reference additional content when writing an email. Beginning today, some users of Google's email service will be able to see their new and reply messages popping up in an in-window box similar to what appears for Google Talk chats. The hovering new email box will allow users to continue to refer back to other emails or navigate through their inboxes as they compose a new message.
Google announced today an expansion of the search capabilities built into Gmail and its standard search, giving users more access to other Google products. The feature is now in field trial mode, but Gmail and Google users will soon be able to view relevant files from Google Drive and Google Calendar entries alongside Gmail items when they search from within the email application. The field trial is currently only available for @gmail.com addresses, and only accessible in English.
A video posted online today appears to show a version of Gmail for Android that will debut with the rumored update bringing the platform to version 4.2. The video shows off a few changes to the Gmail user interface, as well as new navigation features meant to streamline the Gmail experience. The major interface update appears to be deeper integration of single-finger gestures, allowing users to delete or archive messages with the swipe of a finger.
Google has added a number of different input options to Gmail, in an effort to increase the number of international users of the service. The new additions include over 100 input method editors and virtual keyboards, allowing for text entry in a number of languages that do not use the Roman Alphabet.
Authorities in Iran have unblocked access to Google's email service, it was announced today. Access to Gmail had been blocked last week in protest over a YouTube video that had been deemed blasphemous by religious leaders. Reuters reports that the reversal came partly as a result of complaints from officials within Iran's own government, and Iranian officials now claim that the blocking of Gmail was unintentional.
Google has announced that Gmail and Google Calendar are now capable of contact sync via CardDAV. CardDAV is an open format, and should make it easier to sync Google contacts to third-party clients, such as the native Contacts app in iOS. Previously people sometimes had to go through harder workarounds, such as Exchange.
Iran has blocked its citizens from accessing Google and Gmail. The country is blocking access to the web giant's websites as part of the ongoing protests over a YouTube video deemed blasphemous by religious leaders, however some see it as the first stage in the country creating its own national network, separate from the Internet.
Google is extending the video chat capabilities it already has built into Gmail to bring the email service more in line with Google+. The company's decision to add hangouts to Gmail was announced today in a post on the Official Gmail Blog. The new feature will allow users to connect across a variety of Google services.
In a surprise move, software developer Sparrow has announced that it has been bought out by Google. Most terms of the deal haven't been announced, but Sparrow does say it will be folded into the Gmail team to "accomplish a bigger vision" which it can allegedly "better achieve with Google." It also promises that it will "continue to make Sparrow available and provide support for our users."
Google has released an important update of its Gmail client for iOS. The main change is the addition of Notification Center support, which enables banners, alerts, and lockscreen pop-ups for messages. When composing email users now also have the option of picking a different "send as" address, so long as the address is already configured in Gmail.
Google has just detailed a new update to Gmail and its Google+ social network. From their Gmail web client, users can now respond to Google+ notifications in real time. They can comment, share and +1 items as soon as they get them, while responses from others also instantly appear in Gmail as part of the notification.
Google has just detailed its Automatic Message Translation feature for its Gmail service, having graduated it from the beta Gmail Labs. The feature was around in the Labs section since 2009, and now gives users the option to automatically translate e-mails into their native language. The feature is similar to that of Google Chrome when visiting a page that's written in a foreign language.
Google posted Tuesday that users of Google's free email service would be receiving a 33 percent boost in storage capacity. Gmail users will now have access to 10GB of storage.
Google has acknowledged that its Gmail service suffered some downtime for some users. The issue, which began earlier on Tuesday, had been addressed by the software giant, who promised more information on the cause. Gmail came back after about an hour.
Google updated two of its core Android apps on Wednesday to bring major new interface updates for certain users. Gmail (Google Play) now lets Android 3.2 tablet owners get the same Gmail interface as they would on Android 4.0, including swipe gestures to flip between conversations and more advanced control over labels. It can likewise sync the last 30 days of messages both to streamline search and help users work offline.
The European Commissioner's competition head Joaquin Alumnia on Wednesday postponed a decision on possible antitrust charges versus Google. He pushed back from a promise of late March or early April until after April 8, or after Easter. Investigators had asked for "some more days, even weeks" to accommodate the holidays while still conducting a proper investigation.
Google has acknowledged an unusual problem with Gmail on Android preventing access for some users. Some users opening the app see rapid flickering that not only makes it hard to read but often unusable. The issue doesn't appear to be device-specific and affects HTC, Motorola, and others.
Archos used Thursday to roll out Android 4.0 upgrades to its G9 tablets (PDF). All 80 G9 and 101 G9 models should start getting the new firmware over-the-air. Archos' implementation adds unique touches besides what Google brings to the platform, such as 1080p video and automatic subtitle downloads for many formats, 3D MKV videos, file manager and remote control apps, and USB Ethernet adapter support.
Google representatives were reported as being hesitant to fully answer questions relating to concerns over privacy on Thursday. In the wake of a hearing at a Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade subcommittee, California representative Mary Bono Mack briefed The Hill and others that the answers weren't "very forthcoming" in terms of the impact on families. She saw the unified privacy policy as ironically more complex for the user and that, even with Google's assurances, it wouldn't be easy to turn certain sharing off.
Google is now steering users into extra services when they register a new Google account on the sign-up page. Now, a new subscriber must provide more information then in the past to create an account, which in turn is automatically used to enroll them in Google+ and create a Gmail account. Although it's not explicitly stated, users can opt out, but the move counts on them accepting the extra features by default.
The University of California in Berkeley has posted a full breakdown of a recent decision to pick Google's Gmail and Google Apps over Microsoft's Office 365 in what represented a changing of the guard. Although not an unambiguous win, Google pulled ahead by being free, taking a fast six to ten weeks to implement, and popular. Using its system would require much less of an overhaul than Microsoft's, Berkeley said, and majority of the students and staff alike already knew the apps.
Google updated Gmail on the web to bring to mobile web users some of the features that it introduced in the Gmail iOS app just a few days ago. Those on a modern mobile web browser, such as Android 3.1, iOS 4, the BlackBerry PlayBook, or later versions of each can hand-draw Scribbles, or notes or sketches, to accompany their e-mail. It primarily relies on HTML5 to provide native features and supports colors as well as different brush types.
Google chose Wednesday to deliver its first major update to Gmail on iOS (App Store. The new version lets users set a mobile-only signature as well as a stock vacation response. On iOS 5, users get a new custom sound for notifications.
Google+ picked up key updates on the web and mobile on Thursday. On the web, it now ties in closely with Gmail: any message from someone on Google+ gives the option to add them to the social network, and circles can be used both to auto-populate contacts and filter messages. Photos that come in through Gmail can now share out directly through Google+ instead of having to save a local copy first.
Sony Ericsson is phasing out its Sony Ericsson Sync service in favor of Google Sync. It explained that the older service was meant for an older generation of phones. The company instead suggested that users switch over to Android's Google Sync, or alternatives such as Plaxo and UNYK.
Google's own Gmail client app for iOS is mediocre compared to its Android counterpart (even after returning to the store after bugs forced Google to pull it just after its debut), but iPhone users do at least have some options. Among them is a relatively new client called Sent ($5) that has been positively reviewed by buyers as well as by The Next Web, which called it "not perfect" but also "the best Gmail client on the iPhone right now."
Since being pulled just hours after release due to bugs, the Gmail app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad has now returned (free, App Store). Version 1.02 requires iOS 4.0 or newer, and users need to either uninstall or log out of the original 1.0.1 app. As before, it improves on just using the native iOS mail app by viewing Gmail in threaded conversations, and organize it by archiving, labeling, starring, deleting, and spam reporting.
Google will no longer be supporting Gmail as a native app for BlackBerry. The company will be pulling support and availability for downloading beginning November 22. Current users will still be able to use the app after that date.
Google in just two hours has already pulled its Gmail app for iOS. The company's Dave Girouard explained the removal as a voluntary step after Google found a bug that would break notifications and trigger errors the first time the app is open. The fix is underway, and a new version was coming "soon," he said.
A rumor was quickly confirmed on Wednesday after Google posted an iOS-native Gmail app (free, App Store). The title is universal for both the iPhone and iPad and is intended to give a level of speed that isn't normally available through iOS itself: new messages are flagged in real-time through push notifications without having to use Exchange. It also brings expected specific features such as Priority Inbox, labeling, starring, and spam flags.
Google made two big revisions to its web pages on Tuesday. Its largest was an overhaul of Gmail's web interface and the other is bringing Street View functionality to public parks. The changes in Gmail bring the new layout common to all Google sites. The interface size and density of the elements will also automatically resize depending on what it's being viewed from, whether it’s a PC, tablet or smartphone, with a manual override for those that want it.
Google may answer one of longer-lasting complaints about Gmail on the iPhone by releasing a native Gmail app, multiple insiders claimed Monday. The app is described by CrunchFund partner MG Siegler's contacts as "fantastic" and taking advantage of push notifications. It will presumably include starring and may have recent but now established features like Priority Inbox sorting as well as possible improvements for contact IDs, a new threading layout, and much more in-depth searching.
Google appears to be previewing a revamped Gmail interface, expanding upon the current Preview theme that is available to all users. The search giant briefly posted a YouTube video that introduced the new UI, however the company quickly attempted to hide the segment by switching the privacy settings.
Microsoft as part of a complete revamp of the Hotmail interface put out a rare Android-first app. Hotmail for Android (free, Market) gives users push (real-time) e-mail like they would if they used Gmail and will also sync calendars and contacts. It can take on multiple accounts and has a specialized interface for picking photos along with the usual attachment support.
Gmail users reported an unusual outage. The issue appeared to be primarily located in the US but has also seen some Canadians report problems getting access. Other areas' statuses weren't clear as of Friday afternoon.
Consumer preference research house Nielsen has published findings from audience measurement data collected from Android smartphone users. The company found that Android Market was the top ranked app, followed by Google Maps, GMail, Facebook and Google Search. Nielsen also found that there were some gender differences with Google Maps having the second greatest reach for men after Android Market, while women preferred Facebook.
Google has begun rolling out a new Chrome browser app that brings offline access to several Google Apps. The update, detailed online, will go live over the next week, and allows users to view their inbox even when they lose their Internet connection. The Gmail Offline Chrome Web Store app is now available.
The Gmail calling feature available to those in the US has now been expanded to include 38 new languages, Google said on Tuesday. As such, calling credits can be purchased in Euros, British pounds and Canadian or US dollars. There are no connection fees, and users are only charged for the time they spend actually talking.
Google has added label-based ringtones to Gmail 2.3.5 for Android. The new feature allows users to set notifications and ringtones for any of the labels in a user’s inbox. In addition, users now also have the ability to sync only priority messages, which aims to save power useage as well as data bandwidth.
