As reported on LifeHacker.
iOS: Gmail’s iPhone and iPad app just got a major update, changing the look and feel of the entire app and adding a few handy new features.
We’ve never been impressed by Google’s official Gmail app, but the new update makes some pretty big improvements. It feels a little less like a webapp now and more like an app that belongs on the iPhone, with smooth transitions and animations between windows. Plus it finallysupports multiple accounts, so serious email users can actually give it a shot.
It still isn’t perfect. The message view seems weirdly inefficient, since Google has apparently decided to stick with this whole “cards” theme. The app still tries to emulate the look and feel of Gmail on the web, but with app-like transitions, when I kind of wish it would just emulate iOS’ default Mail app or Sparrow—again, the messages view is where this really comes through. Still, if you’re a heavy Gmail user, the official offering is finally a viable alternative to Sparrow and the built-in Mail app, so head on over to the App Store and check it out.
Update: It looks like the store is getting hammered, as many people are getting a message saying the app is no longer available. We’ll update as the situation progresses, but if you wait a while and then try to update you should probably be okay.
Update #2: Looks like it’s still slow going, but we found that if you search for Gmail in the store instead of updating it from the Updates pane, it’ll often download correctly. You can do this either by searching for “Google Inc.” or by going to Categories > Productivity and looking at the top free apps. Thanks to +Troy Miller on Google+ for figuring this out!