is it POP?

is it IMAP?

or has Google decided to

- create a new, better open standard?

- create a new proprietary standard?

I just don't see the point - I really don't.

due to the fact that there are still “some kinks that haven't been completely ignored yet”.

than using Thunderbird and POP3/SMTP to Gmail?

Yet another solution looking for a problem. (And I bet it is Windows only)

"because up to now it was limited by the fact that messages could only be accessed online"

Perhaps the author forgot that GMail can be accessed via both POP and IMAP.

Google re-invent the wheel inside the browser. Again.

Sure they'll do a swell job, I'm still not interested in letting a giant advertising firm play host to all my data.

I'll stick to thunderbird.

Don't trip over yourselves to be the first to piss on Google's parade, whatever you do, people.

Unlike pop/imap this will also allow people to continue using the gmail interface, which some people quite like.

stuff but it can never be wise to let any company be too big or have to much control over your data. You should be able to guess which companies I'm talking about.

Oh look a wheel..... we'd better re-invent it.