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October 28, 2007

The Next Version of Gmail Will Be Faster

At the Analyst Day event from October 24, Google didn't announce a lot of things, but it revealed what we can expect from a new version of Gmail that will launch soon:

* prefetching messages. When you load a page that contains a list of messages, Gmail will fetch them in advance so that when you need them, they'll be available instantly. Google said that Gmail will have a completely new JavaScript architecture that will bring a much better performance.

* a new contact manager that will be shared with other Google apps (Google Docs, Google Calendar etc.)


* integrating features from other Google products (an example of an existing feature was the "Open as a Google Document" links placed next to Microsoft Office attachments).

Google didn't mention anything about an interface change, but a recent discovery showed that Gmail also prepares a new UI. Maybe the features I anticipated last month will still make their way in this new version of Gmail.

Related: Google Analyst Day 2007 @ YouTube

Update (a day later): Gmail 2.0 is here.

39 comments:

  1. Finally some proper integration, can't wait!

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  2. More integration, just what I wonted.

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  3. I anticipate that the new "contact manager" will have the service code "cp". Why? Because a new service appeared in Google Apps a while ago which uses this code and it was recently updated to be called "Contacts":

    https://www.google.com/a/ruscoe.net/ServiceLogin?service=cp

    The link on that page points to this not-found URL:

    http://www.google.com/m7/a/ruscoe.net

    Also, that service code exists for Google Accounts, although it's simply known as "New Service" (which is a same for a lot of the new services now, even once they're released):

    https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=cp

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  4. Well that's clearly a good news.
    My concerns is the current contact management. I hate it when Google automatically add email addresses simply because I dared send an email...Utterly stupid.
    The prefecthing thing is what Yahoo uses and the new Yahoo Mail is very fast now that it is out of beta. Let's see how Gail will compare

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  5. I've been craving for a new UI too. And I'm thinking of one that is like the new Google Docs Documents list ui. It looks more professional and polished, while the current Gmail UI still feels very much like a traditional web UI. It's also nice that pre-fetching will be implemented (or improved) along with the performance. Honestly, the current speed is OK, but improvements are always nice.

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  6. thats niceeeee but what about signing up for 6 or less letters gmail id ? i can't find an gm id better than my yahoos even thu yahoo sux

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  7. Buy a domain and use Google Apps to get any email address you want (like dan@mydomain.com).

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  8. Stopping every address I reply to being added to my contacts is my no. 1 ask - then I can sync my contacts (minus all the crap I don't want) with my mobile phone (perhaps using goosync) - that's what I'd like so see...streamlining and syncing!

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  9. Just experienced the new interface. The load time for the inbox takes a bit longer, but my goodness are the instantaneous load times of the pre-fetched emails ever convenient.

    Kudos to the Gmail team for rolling out this feature so soon after the announcement.

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  10. Chris, you're our hero. Did you notice any other new feature (like the improved contact manager)?

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  11. The new interface seems quite a bit slower to me. Prefetched messages do load more quickly, but switching to labels/folders that have many messages now takes quite a bit longer. (E.g. switching to "All Mail" or "Sent Mail" from the inbox seems to be quite a bit slower now.)

    The new contacts manager is surprisingly unstable for a Google web product as well.

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  12. I wrote to Google a while ago, like I'm sure many others did, begging for a better contact manager - one that let you record peoples birthdays, with the option to add those GCal.

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  13. I just got a new link in the top right for a "Newer Version" and "Old Version" of my gmail.

    Not sure what this means ... still playing around.

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  14. my whishes:
    - integration of gmail, gcal, ... (already exists, but improve)
    - contacts
    - todo app
    - palm sync (suggestion: not via hotsync, but optional via cable or over-the-air) of gcal, contacts, todo, ...

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  15. can i buy less than 6 letters gmail id ?

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  16. Here's the official answer, but I think they are reserved for Google employees:

    << Why can't I have a shorter username?

    We've discovered that short usernames at popular domains receive significantly more spam since they're easy to automatically generate. Gmail's requirement that all usernames be at least six characters in length is meant to keep spam out of your inbox. (Dots or periods don't count as characters when creating your username.) >>

    (Gmail help)

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  17. and google employees won't get spam !
    i think they should let us sign up for less than 6 letters id and worn us about the spam and it's up to us

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  18. Why doesn't Gmail team add large file attachment feature? It is very usefull to share a big file with friends. Just let me know if you don't get how it works. Most of Korean free webmail providers offering the feature so users can share even 1G byte file.

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  19. If you want to be able to share files larger than 20MB, you shouldn't be using email attachment at all. Just think about how long it could take for one message to be sent if you have a 1GB attachment. Do you want to spend 20 minutes sending a single email? It's the practicality and frequency of its use!

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  20. Learn to use a file host...like Rapidshare or mytempdir or verzend.be (1 Gig file host!)

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  21. Why are those Google new features only available when you skip to an english locale ? I just can't believe that such a good software is so badly designed in terms of internationalization (i.e. one version is stuck with a locale).

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  22. Slow, Slow, Slow!! I never had problems with emails being slow to load, so I don't see the benefit of "preloading". With a large inbox (or other folder), it makes it VERY frustrating to try to open gmail and go straight to an email and open it - or to switch folders - anything. No thanks, I'll keep the old version.

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  23. um, on my laptop it came up without me clicking a link, also the new internet explorer version with tabs and stuff came up.


    im on a different computer now and i dont know how to GET the new version...

    if u can tell me just leave a comment below... thanx!!!!!!!

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  24. Sir,

    My name is kranthi kumar,

    This is my mail id kranthikumarster@gmail.com,

    Please change to new version,

    Thanking you,

    withregards,
    B.Kranthi Kumar

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  25. Some people have problem with new wersion loading. Use this link to load previous version: http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=1

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  26. I have gmail account.Last 2 days onwards.I lost my chat feature.In my account i have no chat feature.So please kindly help me to slove that problem

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  27. I have to tell you, I am dying here waiting for the new version. I have it on a couple of accounts, but REALLY want it on my first and main account. Been here since nearly the start and feeling left out :-).

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  28. I can't really put into words here on how much I hate the "newer G-Mail version." I would love to know how to set my default to open with the "older version." For a while I had set my country setting to UK so it would automatically open in the older version. Now the Brits have been subjected to the newer version and I'm back where I started in the first place! The contact manager in the newer version has none of the features I previously enjoyed. It wasn't broken in the first place, google-geeks, so why did you have to fix it? Hellllp meeee, ANYbodddy!

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  29. The newer version isn't that good for me. Nothing has changed for me, except the fact that the loading takes a lot longer with that blue bar. Kind of frustrating, but I guess I can't complain.

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  30. i want chat with invisible mode sio want to new version

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  31. i think i want it but how do i get it

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  32. Common guys//////..... why so many neva ending wants and needs?? remember the time when the comps were 256MB RAM and 500MB hard disk..?

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  33. I have had the old gmail for years, now I need the new one. The old one will not allow me to type properly and skips letters. I used to have new version and old version. Now I only have old version. I would like the new version back. can you help me please.
    Jon O'Rullian

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  34. Google's Newer Mail does't work with old browser

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  35. IN my office chatting all ways showing disabled because our company have maintaing legally for some restriction rules.
    if iwant to able to chatting in gmail could you please let me know how to change the status ,

    could you please providing any instalation or websites regarding of itself

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  36. sir,
    please help me to get "new priority inbox" and chat facility in my gmail info.rachanastones@gmail.com. & nair443chandran@gmail.comAlso rectify the problem of "not responding" and give usual fond instead of blue..
    Warm regards

    chandran

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  37. The old version, we can open our email in a new tab/window etc, why the one version cannot do this.
    Har

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  38. Shift+click an email to open it in a new window. Shift+click "compose" to compose a message in a new window. For more shortcuts, type ? in Gmail.

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