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Mailbox is mobile e-mailing done right (pictures)

With swipe-heavy gestures, a snooze option to revisit important e-mails, and a minimalistic interface, it's no wonder why the reservation list for Mailbox is so long.

Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
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1 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

Mailbox: A new way to inbox

Currently, the reservation list for Mailbox, a third-party iOS e-mail client for Gmail, is about 570,000+ people long. But if you have the patience for it, this user-friendly and polished app is worth the wait.

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2 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

A minimalist approach

Mailbox's streamlined look keeps the app's overall aesthetic uncluttered. Your inbox (left) is straightforward and doesn't include any surprises. Tap the icon on the top left to access menu items.

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3 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

Checking morning e-mails

Messages from Mailbox appear like so in your lock screen. If it's a previously sent message that you've selected to revisit later, a clock will appear next to it.

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4 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

Swipe to the left and to the right

Swipe gestures are heavily employed with Mailbox. To organize your e-mail, the app uses five "zones" of categorization. Swipe an e-mail quickly to the right to move it to the archive zone (left). Swipe a message swiftly to the left and you'll move it to the "snoozing" zone. To "snooze" your entire inbox and deal with these messages later en masse, scroll to the bottom and swipe to the left (right).

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5 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

Taking photos seamlessly

Another feature in Mailbox that makes mobile e-mailing smoother is the ability to quickly attach a photo when composing a message. When you want to write a new message, an e-mail draft with a small camera icon on the bottom right pops up. Tap on it and you can choose whether to attach a photo from your gallery or snap a photo from your camera.

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6 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

You snooze, you...gain?

You can do away with e-mails a revisit them later by sending them into the "snooze" zone. Choose when to deal with them with eight different options (left). These terms can be tweaked by you, so you can set exactly what Mailbox means when you want to deal with an e-mail "this evening" or "someday."

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7 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

Ordering which way I please

You can drag messages in any order you want in your inbox (left). Multiple e-mail conversations display similar to chat threads (right).

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