Gmail Offline To Be Released Soon?

Google has all it takes to build an offline mail technology and the recent rumors are sustaining this statement. The Hindustan Times reported the Mountain View company is currently testing an offline flavor of its famous mail solution Gmail that would allow the users to read messages without an Internet connection. Obviously, the product would be available on Google Gears, a special browser extension released this year that adds offline support for several technologies. At this time, Google Reader is the only product powered by the super giant which is compatible with Gears but things might be changed very soon.

"According to highly placed sources, Google has developed an offline version of Gmail. Gmail Offline will allow users to browse, reply, save drafts and do everything that currently Gmail does in an offline mode even when you don't have an Internet connection. On current indications, this would mean that you would download a software client for this," the Hindustan Times wrote in the article.

"When you get online your Gmail client would automatically synchronise (sync) with the Gmail server (network computer) and send and receive e-mail. A Google spokeswoman in India officially denies such a thing but there is ample evidence to believe Gmail Offline is in fact a reality and may soon be hitting a browser close to you. This has tremendous implications for corporate e-mail, but more on that later."

Now, let's analyze this a little bit. Let's suppose Gmail will be really improved with Gears support and it will become available even in offline mode. Obviously, all the messages will be downloaded on users' computers in order to allow them to access it anytime without an Internet connection. But, since Gmail offers no less than 2.8 GB of storage size and even more if you bought additional space, the download time might be a little bit discouraging for the users. And as a result, the old-fashioned desktop POP3 clients will win the competition with Gmail and remain the main alternative for email communication.