UPDATE Nov 2022: Inbox has been gone for several years now. I still miss it. 😦

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I am always willing to try something new.  Sometimes that has been a curse (like being 20 years ahead of the videoconferencing curve) but sometimes it has been a blessing in that I occasionally find a gem that I never expected to find before anyone else.  

Google’s Inbox is a gem.  (Albeit one with limitations, but, hey, even beautiful diamonds have some flaws).

My Email Habits

I like to use folders or “labels” to store my incoming emails.  An email would come in, skip the inbox, and go directly into a folder or “label”.  That folder would then show me that an email is sitting there unread.  I know by the folder the email resides in if I want to tackle that email today or put it off for tomorrow.

Because I do this….my Inbox is nice and clean.

As I read emails, I also like to “delete” them (if I think I won’t need it, or it deserves it) and I mark emails as “spam” and mark emails that I keep, but did not read, as “read”.

Based on the above I would be vary happy with an email app or program that:  Has folders, allows me to delete, allows me to mark as spam or as read.

Working with Google’s Inbox

When I first downloaded Inbox in October 2014 (I asked for an invite and got it) I could not get the hang of it as I got confused with my existing folder / label situation.  After some deliberation,  I decided to start with a clean slate at my relatively new, permanent, email address at techy@forcarol.com and let Google Inbox decide where to put the emails until I felt comfortable adding my own folders (assuming I got to that point).

Inbox did a good job of separating emails for me.  I am impressed with how well only a few folders were utilized, and utilized very well.

As I became more comfortable with Inbox, and started using it more (mostly on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4) I saw the need to add my own folders. This is easily done and works well.

As expected, when an email comes in that fits into one of these folders I see it in my Inbox. And I have the option to read the email or just click “Done”. When I click “Done” the email is not deleted, but, rather goes into the “Done” folder where I can look at it later should I decide I need to.

Features I LOVE

After using Inbox now for a couple of months (mostly on my Note 4), I tried to go back to Gmail, but, did not feel comfortable.  I am Inbox convert!  🙂

Here are the reasons:

>I love the ability to “pin” the email to the Inbox to let me know that the email is important and as a constant reminder that I need to take action when I am ready.

>I love the fact that I can just swipe an email away (or check all of them instantly) if I don’t want to read it, and know it will be in the “Done” folder, just in case I screwed up.

>I love that I can set an email on “Snooze” for any length of time (that I determine) and it magically pops back up to remind me to take care of it.

>I appreciate that it is a relatively new way for me to handle emails, but, that after using it, I have come to depend on it.  Google has made Inbox intuitive and easy to use.

Features NEEDED

>The most glaring feature is the lack of a signature in the email.  I want people who get my emails to have my contact information embedded in the email.

>I want to be able to see my contact list, add new contacts, etc.

>I can’t send an email to a contact “group”.  For example, ADautogate has three people the invoice email needs to go to, so I have them all in one “group”: ADautogate.  I can’t send to all three by typing in “ADautogate” in the To: field within Inbox.  I need to!

>I want to be able to filter a current email (and all that I have gotten, all that are yet to come) into spam, trash, etc.  I have to go to my computer, and Gmail, to do this.  I CAN put individual emails into trash, spam etc, but, other than building a new folder, I can’t build an email filter to handle ALL (past and future)…I hope I explained that well enough.

That’s about it…..

Summary

Google’s Inbox is a new way to handle my emails, and I love it.  I used it initially on my Note 4, but, and now also using it on my laptop. A few features need to be addressed, but, overall this is a tool I can’t seem to live without.