Review: Gmail browser - all about Symbian Apps

Published by David Gilson at 10: 08 UTC, March 15, 2011

The good thing about Google services, it is that you can get their fair anywhere these days. Pixelpipe people have now created an application that uses "native WebKit capabilities that are available with Qt". This application provides Gmail, tasks, calendar of Google and Buzz all in a single application. Using technology Qt is a breakthrough of Widgets RunTime Web made by Asri Al Baker pioneer. Keep reading to see how well Pixelpipe captured the experience of Google on Symbian devices.

Gmail Apps browser has a very simple user interface. A progress bar along the bottom of the screen doubles as a placeholder for five buttons. From left to right, are: Back, forward, zoom in, Zoom out, and a shortcut to the list of applications.

The rest of the screen is resumed with the content and control what Google application that you use. For a brief interlude, I will return to CEO of Pixelpipe, Brett Butterfield:

Pixelpipe: Google Apps developer Pixelpipe browser on Vimeo.

Gmail

The Gmail interface is quite similar to the iPhone/Android enhanced web interface that we have seen before. However, there are some important differences. Anyone who has used Gmail improved mobile site in Web will be aware of the stakes of the screen width. These problems were corrected, allowing Gmail to adapt perfectly to the width of landscape of 640 pixels for the Symbian touch screen format.

In the improved Gmail interface in the Web navigation, Symbian users have also missed next to the floating menu, which provides access to functions as archive and delete. However, cross-platform users will be pleased to hear that it is present in a solution on measurement of the Pixelpipe. What makes the site much more usable Gmail, despite limited screen resolution of Symbian.

The calendar interface is the same as the web mobile available to Symbian browser interface. Month view indicates only events throughout the day. Therefore, the user has to use hyperlinks left and rights, or select days, see the timed entries.

Creating the event and the Edition is supported in a more user-friendly manner. A calendar handy floating is presented in the selection of a date, so you don't type in dates.
The look and feel of the site Google Calendar may actually be preferable to some people that the Symbian calendar application integrated. However, as with one of these applications, the user experience depends completely on the connectivity and latency.

The Task Manager is a long requested feature of Gmail, but is still very limited in its functionality. However, for the simple list management task it will probably suffice, particularly since it supports multiple lists and subtasks.

Tasks are properly supported in Gmail Apps browser. The user can view all their task lists and tasks stored in each. Users can create, modify and delete tasks; mark them as complete. and delete completed tasks. What does not appear to be possible creates a subtask. Add a due date for a task, a calendar handy is high, as mentioned above, to allow easy entry of dates.

Buzz is unfortunate Google social network; an attempt to create a more rich, threaded Twitter version. Among other reasons, privacy means that Buzz never really gained traction, with only the hardcore geeks paste with the service, just in case it has finally hit a critical mass.

Implementation of Buzz in Qt of Pixelpipe application is fundamental and not immediately complete. The main menu of the Buzz allows you to view the updates of people who you are following, who are close to you, your messages, which you follow, following you, and a link to find other people.
These all work with varying degrees of success. The lists of disciples, for example, does not screen, but instead is packaged with scroll bars that do not work. Also, find updates Buzz of people nearby still works because the application cannot access the phone location.

To be fair, those who are least used aspects of Buzz. In terms of reading messages, it performs well. You can make posts and control if they are public or private sector. However there is no field entry for hyperlinks.

In its beta tester mailing list, Pixelpipe has stated that this request came from an internal training project. The criticisms that I am here are therefore me being rather temperamental for what is, after all, a free to try side-project. However, it is a compelling idea and is a reminder in a timely manner to how the mobile web has the potential to native as applications and when networks become faster. I look forward to see the development of this project.

Something which although Pixelpipe do is a rapid development, keep an eye on this project. There are more the Qt based applications on the road to Pixelpipe too, hopefully including a Google Reader application. Player was in early beta versions of the browser Apps from Gmail, but did not at the release candidate due to feedback from users.

David Gilson for all about Symbian, March 15, 2011.

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