The Bottom Line
Pros
- Mailplane turns Gmail into a Mac application full with keyboard shortcuts and a toolbar
- You can easily send photos and screenshots, drag and drop to attach and insert text snippets
- Mailplane announces incoming mail using Growl, sound, Dock icon and the menu bar
Cons
- Mailplane only accesses one Gmail account at a time (switching is easy, though)
- Inserting text snippets could be even easier (by automatically expanding shortcuts, for example)
- Mailplane's Safari rendering can be a tad sluggish composing mail
Description
- Mailplane combines we-based Gmail with desktop email features.
- You can attach files by dragging and dropping, and a download manager helps you find or open downloaded attachments.
- Mailplane can resize images automatically as you attach them and plugs into iPhoto. Mailing screenshots is easy, too.
- You can access Gmail features using a toolbar or additional keyboard shortcuts.
- Mailplane announces new mail in its Dock icon, the menu bar and using Growl (even for multiple Gmail accounts).
- For each Gmail account, you can define text snippets inserted using an address book-like pane.
- Mailplane lets you insert email addresses from the Mac OS X Address Book.
- Using a custom style sheet, Mailplane can tweak the Gmail interface.
- Mailplane supports Mac OS X 10.4/5.
Guide Review - Mailplane 1.70 - Gmail Email Program
Mailplane has put all these features and more on top of Safari showing Gmail: you get all the flexibility and power of web-based Gmail with the convenience of a Mac desktop application.
Prominently, Mailplane comes with a toolbar and a host of additional keyboard shortcuts. (Gmail's one-key shortcuts, where available, are usually handier than Mailplane's "Command-Option" alternatives.) If you like, you can have Mailplane announce new mail via the menu bar, its Dock icon and Growl.
A desktop email application's real power is in the integration with the OS and other programs, of course. Mailplane not only makes downloading files easy, you can also drop documents to attach them and use Mailplane's iPhoto plug-in or built-in image smarts to send photos and screenshots easily. With Mailplane, Gmail can become your default email application, and you can insert addresses from the Mac OS X Address Book.
Mailplane make it a snap to switch between Gmail accounts, but you cannot how two opened side by side. For each account, you can define text snippets swiftly inserted from a searchable pane. Automatic text completion or expansion might be even nicer, of course.
