Gmail Offline – Google released the beta offline version of its popular e-mail service

At last, one of the most popular Google services – Gmail (which stands for Google mail) – goes offline. Offline Gmail is beta (of course ), but users already can work with Gmail without being connected to the Internet. To do that, one should install Google Gears, an open source browser extension for Internet Explorer and Firefox, which is already used for offline access to such web apps as Google Docs, RSS Reader, etc. Google Gears cashes data and stores them in a database. If there is too much mail, it’s sorted by some criteria and the most important e-mails are cashed in the first place. That makes possible using Gmail on computers with slow or unstable Internet connection. While you’re connected to the Internet, Google Gears automatically synchronizes data with server, but even if the network connection is lost, you can read, edit and write letters.

To enable offline Gmail, go to the Settings in your Gmail account, then to the Labs tab, and the first you’ll see will be Gmail Offline option. Click Enable and Save changes. You’ll see Offline^0.1 link near your Settings link. Click it to start setup process.

Of course, as Gmail supports POP and IMAP protocols, Google mail can be read and sent with any e-mail client. And it’s the matter of your taste only – to use your usual desktop e-mail client, read mail online or start using offline Gmail. In any case, it’s great to have a choice, isn’t it?

Please, answer this poll – how do you manage or will manage your Gmail?