Who benefits from Native Gmail App for IOS

This is what we all have been waiting for, the Native Gmail app for IOS. So who actually benefits from this App? Apple and Users

Problem with Mail on IOS

When iPhone first came out, there were many ways to save battery life. One of many which still applies is the fetching rate of new data. If you are using Exchange and use Push, you will notice significant difference from Fetching the data Hourly. So why is native App better? it uses true PUSH technology which will only transmit when push server pushes the new data/notification, this should be much efficient than the Mail app.

History of Mobile Sync(email,contacts,calendar)

When Mobile Me first came out, I was willing to pay $100/year to keep all my contact list and address book synced. While Mobile Me was having many issues, Google announced Mobile Sync which allows Gmail users to use as Exchange account on IOS. During this period many people who uses both Gmail and MobileMe, moved to Exchange to sync their data on iPhone.

iCloud

When iCloud came out, I was skeptical because I had no reason to use it, Gmail with Exchange got the job done. iCould has other sync features that looked promising but it’s main feature was email, contact and calendar. If I wanted to use iCloud, I would use Gmail on iPhone’s native mail app and have iCloud sync contacts and calendars. The more account I had syncing, meant faster battery usage, so it was off.

Gmail App for IOS

Gmail Apps uses push notification, this means quick delivery and no wasting battery checking periodically. It is not the same push notification as exchange server’s push. I was few lucky ones who downloaded the first release before Google yanked it from the App store. It felt somewhat slow on 3GS but I loved the feature where I could search the whole Gmail, which wasn’t possible on Exchange nor IOS’s native Mail app. The only downside is that I can’t have multiple accounts. With Gmail App taking care of email, I had no reason to use Exchange on Gmail account.

This meant I could use iCloud to sync contact and calendar. Efficiency is the key here.

Conclusion

It’s been less than a day since Gmail App reappeared on App store, so I will have to feel the battery difference(Push on the first release they yanked didn’t work). With Apple allowing iCloud’s storage to App developers, iCloud will be more than email, contact and calendar sync for multiple IOS device users.