Google launches offline mode for Gmail

If, like some members of the Mobile Computer team, you find yourself increasingly reliant on Google’s Gmail service then the company’s latest announcement will be very welcome – you’ll soon be able to work with Gmail offline.

This might sound a rather retrograde idea in a connected world but the point is that with mobility comes a reliance on wireless connections and if you’re a devotee of Gmail’s webmail interface, then you’ll know it’s useless without a line to the web. But not any more. More after the cut.

Google is currently rolling out a new Labs feature – Offline Gmail. It uses Google’s Gears technology to download a local cache of your Gmail folders and contents. If you lose your web connection, Gmail automatically switches to using this cache, allowing you to continue working – replying to messages, starring emails for later attention, applying labels – without concern for when your device will next be online. When a net connection is once again found, Gmail will automatically synchronise the local cache with its servers.

The Offline Gmail feature even has a 'flaky connection' mode, which relies on the local cache most of the time, synching automatically in the background. In theory, at least, this should speed up everyday use for those whose net connections are unreliable.

Offline Gmail is being rolled out now. Keep an eye out for it under the Labs tabs.

[ Official Gmail Blog]