Google Bringing HTML5 To Gmail

angry tapir writes "In keeping with Google's enthusiasm for the emerging HTML5 standard, many upcoming features of the company's Gmail Web-based e-mail service will be rendered in HTML5. One feature that the Gmail design team is now working on is the ability to drag files from the desktop into the browser. Gmail will also make use of HTML5's database standards. Currently the e-mail service uses Google Gears to store mail for offline reading, but over time that will migrate to the HTML5 standards."

Comments

Apple rejects HTML5 on iPad/iPhone

[Orga]

Take THAT!

Re:Apple rejects HTML5 on iPad/iPhone

[mrsteveman1]

Hulu will blink before Apple does. Netflix for instance was (and is) using Silverlight for browser streaming, and they decided to go with HTTP streaming and a native App for the iPad and iPhone.

Re:Apple rejects HTML5 on iPad/iPhone

[Professor_UNIX]

They'd probably rather license the content to mobile providers using services like Verizon's VCAST. I recently read they went live with VCAST for Android which could explain why Hulu is blocking Android phones with Flash. No sense in letting users get something for free with ads when you can charge them for a premium service right?

Thats not new

[QuantumRiff]

One feature that the Gmail design team is now working on is the ability to drag files from the desktop into the browser

This has been working for over a month on Gmail now. its much nicer to attach files by dragging and dropping with HTML5. (chrome, in my case)

now if they would allow you to insert inline graphics...

Re:Thats not new

[ghee22]

There is a Gmail Lab for this feature: Inserting images by Kent T Allows you to insert images into a message body. You can upload and insert image files in your computer, or insert images by URLs. This lab will not work if you have offline enabled.

Re:Thats not new

[Anonymous Coward]

"now if they would allow you to insert inline graphics" yea that is what we need. No thanks I wish we would go back to text only. Less chance of an exploit when you are just dealing with just text. Attachments are fine.

Feel free to go back to 1990--or disable rich text or HTML rendering in your client. (Hopefully they are already disabled from unknown senders by default.) The rest of us appreciate legitimate uses of HTML+CSS, including inline images, in our e-mail.

Slower and slower

[JustinRLynn]

No matter how many features they pile into gmail, no matter how flashy and pretty they make it, any time I need to actually quickly check my email or read several in new tabs, I am going to use 'basic html view'. The advanced modes are better for searching/sorting though.

Re:Slower and slower

[Darkness404]

Well, of course. There is a reason they are called "lab" extensions, they aren't stable, they aren't guaranteed to not increase memory usage, the majority of them are to add a feature quickly, then later work on an elegant solution.

What competition do they have?

[radarsat1]

It amazes me how far, it seems, gmail is ahead of the competition when it comes to usability. It is the only web-based email client I have used that feels like a proper application, and works exactly as I'd like it to.

However, I know that at this point there _must_ be competition for it out there, open source or otherwise. Does anyone know other email services that offer a comparably usable interface?

Re:What competition do they have?

[darkmeridian]

I agree that Gmail is so far ahead of its webmail competition such as Yahoo and Hotmail. The biggest feature, however, is Gmail's junk filter. Nary a piece of junkmail gets into my inbox and false positives are exceedingly rare. However, it's pretty disconcerting if this success is due to their understanding of your behaviors. Haha. The Gmail interface is very quick and efficient. It loads and works quickly. I also I love how Gmail doesn't ask for confirmation but rather gives you the option to undo a delete.