Three hours after popping up Gmail for iOS on the Apple App Store, Google pulled it down, citing a bug that displays an error on opening the app. Here's a shot of what the app looked like before Apple took it down. Google execs were unavailable for comment at this writing.
Image credit: Wired
Wired's early impressions of Gmail for iOS were lackluster. A reviewer wrote:
Sadly for Google, the first reviews of the app are far from brilliant.
Noted tech commentator Robert Scoble tweeted his disappointment, "The Gmail app is really a piece of crud. Not worth loading. Very disappointed."
Other early app adopters have taken to Twitter to complain that notifications are failing, there's no support for multiple accounts and a number of users are also encountering error messages.
To get you all caught up, Gmail exec Matthew Izatt issued a post online announcing the app this morning Pacific Time but, upon pulling it from the App Store at noon, three hours later, added this addendum to the post.
Credit: Google.
Here is what Izatt posted as Google's announcement of Gmail for iOS below:
Waiting. Walking. Watching TV. Working out. Winding down. Waking up. We check email pretty much everywhere these days. And when we do, we want easy access to our important messages so we can respond quickly and get back to life — or slinging birds at thieving green pigs.
With that in mind, we’ve created a new Gmail app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. We’ve combined your favorite features from the Gmail mobile web app and iOS into one app so you can be more productive on the go. It’s designed to be fast, efficient and take full advantage of the touchscreen and notification capabilities of your device. And it’s one more reason to switch to Gmail.
Speed
We want to give you the information you need quickly, with minimal effort and distraction. So we’ve included some time-saving features:
- Get alerted to new messages with push notifications and sounds
- Find an email in seconds with search across your entire inbox
- Autocomplete email addresses from your Gmail contacts or select from your device’s address book
- Upload photos with a click using the new attachment button in compose view
- On iPad, navigate your inbox and read your mail simultaneously with split view
Upload photos Reply, move, label and more Efficiency
Our inboxes overflow with dozens and even hundreds of messages a day–and this can be even more challenging on a smaller screen. The new Gmail app helps organize your mail so you don’t have to go wading through your inbox to find that key message from your boss or loved one:
- Focus on your important messages first with Priority Inbox
- Quickly scan countless emails on the same subject with threaded conversations
- Organize your mail by archiving, labelling, starring, deleting and reporting spam
Threaded conversations on the iPad
Touch
We’ve also optimized the interface so you can perform common actions in Gmail with the lightest touch:
- Pull down your inbox to rapidly refresh if you’re eager for new mail
- Swipe right to view your labels without ever leaving your inbox
- Swiftly scroll through dozens of emails just by sliding your finger
Pull down to refresh Swipe right to view labels We hope the Gmail app makes checking email on the go a little easier. It is available in the App Store today and works on all devices running iOS 4+. For more information, check out our help center.
by The Gmail Team at 9:19 am
