Google has been tweaking Gmail of late to bring some nice new features to the mix and improve the mail service for users. Not long ago Google added a neural network to help reduce the spam we have to deal with on a daily basis. Google has now unveiled a new feature called Snooze in Inbox designed to make it easier to find things like emailed tickets and confirmations right when you need them.
Spam email is one of the most annoying things about the internet today with inboxes flooded with messages for cheap medications and dating sites that few people actually want to see. Gmail is pretty good at catching spam messages and hiding them away in the spam folder without most users having to do much to make it happen. However, we all know that at some point you need to check spam because inevitably a message that isn't spam ends up in there.
Some like their inboxes to be clean and plain, but there are those who need a dose of color amidst their email, and Gmail is targeting those users with its new update. Google Software Engineer Gaurav Vijay announced the upcoming changes today, saying some more options are inbound for personalizing things. Among the new options are more themes, something that made their first appearance in Gmail back in 2008. There are also some new emojis in case the current roster isn't enough to satiate your picture-based expressions.
Today Gmail's "Undo Send" feature finally comes to the standard version of Gmail. With it, a renewed interest in the labs where it was born. This system is called Gmail Labs - a place where awesome features are thought up and tossed into the fray with wild abandon. Sort of. While there's still some testing that goes on behind the scenes, Google offers up a place where users can test out the oddities before they reach prime-time. There you can play with the toys before the toys come to all the other girls and boys.
It's a feature that has long been thought should be a staple in email, and for some Gmail users, it has been: Undo send. It's the ability to stop an outgoing email within a few seconds of pressing the "send" button, whether it be because of a typo, a forgotten attachment, or a recipient entered. Google has now made Undo Send a permanent feature in Gmail, with it available as an option in settings. However, it is currently limited to web-based Gmail, which means going through the browser.
Inbox is Google's Gmail-based app that offers deeper integration with calendars, photos, and your daily life that basic Gmail. The mobile app's goal is to "help you spend less time with email," which is a welcome goal for any smartphone user. Inbox debuted in October, but just like the early days of Google+, the app was available through invitation only—until now. Google has opened up Inbox to the public, so now is your chance to get organized, or at least get an organized inbox.
In an effort to better automate your schedule, Google has acquired Timeful. The service, as-is, takes your schedule and finds time for those things you need to do — but don’t quite have scheduled. Exercising, calling your credit card company about a charge; those are sometimes tasks that you do when you can find time. Timeful simply finds that time for you. Timeful’s app, currently iOS-only, is still available for download and use, but the team says their energy will be focussed on Google projects moving forward.
There's an update to Gmail this week that will allow you - on your mobile device - to push all your email into one, single inbox. This is not the "Inbox" app, nor is it a destruction of the separate email boxes like Social, Promotions, and Updates. Instead, it's a central place where you can get email from all of your different accounts, be they all Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or whatever you happen to be using. All in one, single Inbox, that'll forever overflow for the rest of time.
iOS 8 has introduced a lot of new features that add convenience and speed to the platform, but not all apps have immediately taken advantage of those. Some are just starting to catch up to go with the times. Google has just pushed out a few updates to its apps on iOS, but most notable perhaps is Gmail. In the latest 4.0 version of the app, Google has added three new features that let you handle your email or create one right then and there, without batting an eyelash.
Having trouble signing into Google stuff today? You’re not the only one. According to several Tweets sent out over the last hour or so, Google services are seeing disruption. Hangouts, Gmail, Google Play, and Play Music all seem to be seeing interruptions. Google has yet to comment on the outages, but so many complaints can’t lead to some sort of user error. Some users are even seeing authentication errors, while others simply can’t access services they rely on, like Hangouts or email.
Today, Google is announcing an update to Contacts. In the preview, you’ll notice straight away that Google has rolled in a bit of the Material Design flavor, giving your Contacts page a fresh look and feel. Not only a facelift, Contacts also gives you some new features, most notably the ability to easily find and merge (or delete) duplicate contacts. Still in preview, the new Contacts feature is already much better that what you might be using now, and makes finding people much easier.
Modern day businesses are evolving. A few years ago shopkeepers started realizing the importance of social media, but now that isn't enough. Google is giving businesses new ways to keep in contact with their customers. Google is testing a feature that allows customers to use a chat with business owners in real time through Google Hangouts. It's a great idea for today's customers who not only want instant access to store information, but they want it without having to pick up the phone and make a call.
