One of the things I love about my Motorola Droid smartphone is the seamless integration with Gmail and contacts. Up until now, Google left Gmail integration in the hands of the wireless companies. Since Android is an open source operating system, implementations vary among providers and models. Some models also use older versions of the OS and don’t provide the option to upgrade to the latest version.
Where Gmail was integrated into the OS, Google has now decoupled it as an app. It’s a first step toward standardization of core Android features among phone models.
The differences between the new app and the previously integrated Gmail aren’t obvious until you open a message. Even then, they’re subtle. The headline (subject) appears more prominently above the message, but the best new addition is a new navigation bar in the upper right, just under the headline. It’s a mobile version of the Reply drop-down.
One caveat: If your phone doesn’t support the current Android version (2.2 Froyo), you won’t be able to use the Gmail app. You can still continue to use your current Gmail implementation, though.
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