Google announced on Monday the rollout of a redesigned Gmail web app that will bring a streamlined UI with improved search to users of the service on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Kindle Fire and Chrome.
Following the highly well-received Gmail 2.0 update for iOS, Google has updated its web app to emulate the same experience. The app is built on HTML5 and accessed through your mobile browser.
The UI will look familiar to most iPhone users who have Gmail accounts, but for Android, BlackBerry and Kindle Fire users, it'll be a welcome change.
The redesign features integration with Google Calendar, a less cluttered layout, as well as larger fonts and icons. Improved search adds a lot to functionality, mainly in terms of the auto-complete predictions now integrated into the search bar.
"Since launching the rebooted Gmail app for iPhone and iPad in December, we've heard from many of you that you like the redesigned UI, along with new features such as improved search and integration with Google Calendar. Today we're rolling out a similar refreshed look to the Gmail mobile web app as well as Gmail Offline that includes many of these same changes. Try it out at gmail.com in the browser of your Android, iOS, Blackberry, or Kindle Fire device."
The web app redesign reflects Google's push toward HTML5. While the company has not thrown in the towel on native apps like Mozilla did with its Firefox app, it definitely seems to be moving away from coding different versions of its offerings for different devices in favor of a fully virtualized experience that works cross-platform.
In addition to the Gmail revamp, Google is also offering a new version of Gmail Offline. The app automatically synchronizes with your Gmail account when you boot it up, allowing for messages to be archived, indexed, searched and read while the device itself is offline.
