It will be three years since Google slammed the door on Inbox and lo and behold Shortwave, a sort of sequel with which to pick up those who were disenchanted with the end of the application and the influence acquired by Gmail, the only flagship of those from Mountain View as far as email is concerned.
long story shortas the Anglo-Saxons say, Inbox was the inbox that was going to revolutionize Gmail, an alternative client for Gmail developed by Google with the aim of promoting innovation in a category of software, email, anchored in forms of the past and, apparently, with little to say beyond what has been said.
People liked the invention and, once its mission was fulfilled, Gmail adopted some of the most outstanding features of Inbox, although it would end up including some more among its functions. But Inbox became history and many users were left wanting more… and now they have the opportunity to take it up again, more or less.
Shortwave is a full-fledged continuation of Inbox, an initiative also led by ex-Google employees, who apparently couldn’t resist launching an alternative to the defunct Gmail client that, mind you, is still under development, at least when it comes to meeting the needs of the multi-platform spectrum.
Thus, Shortwave is available to anyone who wants to give it a try, either through the web, as a web application linked to a derivative browser -that is, compatible- with Chromium (Chrome, Brave, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi) or with an application for iOS, as the Android app is still under development. In any case, the project is moving forward.
What you are interested in knowing about Shortwave, however, are its characteristics, a defining element of Inbox that are maintained in this kind of iteration, but with a different touch: the option to pin messages, to freeze them to reply later, a hint of task list, categories, GIF and Markdown support… and much more.
A look at the Shortwave interface gives a clue as to where the app’s shots are going, a real productivity tool with a fresh appearance that combines different functionalities even beyond what Inbox offered in its day. But make no mistake, because Shortwave is still the same, an interface for Gmail with additional functions and only that.
Also, Shortwave is a paid service, with a free plan but with limitations that perhaps discards it for the common of the users. For example, the limitation of searching a maximum of 90 days in the accumulated messages… although it is always possible to return to the native client, read Gmail. However, this seems to be proposed as a solution for professionals.
The question, of course, is whether everything else that Shortwave provides is worth its price, being Gmail free and very powerful on its own, as well as expandable through extensions or third-party tools that in many cases are also free. Be that as it may, the mention of Shortwave remains here, even if it is as a mere curiosity. Of course, they could have given it another name and not the one already used by a few radio applications.
