Google optimises Gmail for small netbook screens

Google has been busy improving its mobile offerings better of late. Last week, we reported on its changes to the mobile version of the Google Reader RSS application; now it’s unveiled a tweak to its mobile Gmail application that make it better-suited for viewing on the small screen of a netbook

Busy user interfaces are a problem with the small, low-resolution screens of many netbooks. We’ve already covered how to get the most on-screen real estate in Firefox, but that doesn’t help when it’s the web page, not the browser, that won’t fit on-screen.

Gmail users will have experienced this with Inbox labels, since if too many are applied to a message, the subject line can be shoved off-screen completely. So, Google has added an option that lets you hide labels from the subject line of messages. It’s called, unsurprisingly, "Remove Labels from Subjects" and you can find it in Settings > Labs (somewhere near the bottom, in our set-up).

Once enabled, "Remove Labels from Subjects" is enabled for every computer you access Gmail with, so you’ll lose the labels when you open your Gmail account on a desktop or larger laptop screen too.

If this is a problem for you, then we suggest you switch to using Firefox (if you haven’t already), grab the Greasemonkey extension and install the Folders4Gmail script. You’ll then be able to turn your flat Inbox label structure into nested folders for the ultimate in web mail usability.

[ Official Gmail Blog, via Liliputing]