FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
blog.fastmail.com
FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
1–10 of 124 posts
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#2I've been no waiting for this for so long! I have been using K9, and I love using a FOSS email client, but having native Fastmail support is just so much better.
The native AOSP email app, for example, doesn't even allow you to choose which email address to send from when replying (that, or it's so hidden that I was unable to find it.) Unfortunately, like most AOSP apps, it's been effectively deprecated in favor of the Google alternative (Gmail) so it's unlikely to get any better anytime soon.
I'm also so glad to see that they are releasing on both platforms simultaneously. Having used both an iPhone and an Android, I find it very frustrating when a product is released on one but not the other[0]
[0] Yes, I understand why startups choose to do this. We had to decide which platform to support first at my startup, so I understand the tradeoff involved. But as a user, it's still frustrating.
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#3It seems to only be a slick wrapper around the website. No options, no unread message count on the icon, no ability to easily switch between mail and calendar...
I love FastMail, and can't wait to see where they go with a 2.0 release.
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#4I've been no waiting for this for so long! I have been using K9, and I love using a FOSS email client, but having native Fastmail support is just so much better. The native AOSP email app, for example, doesn't even allow you to choose which email address to send from when replying (that, or it's so hidden that I was unable to find it.) Unfortunately, like most AOSP apps, it's been effectively deprecated in favor of t…
It was actually a really interesting development process. We already had the web app, and our main UI developer is an Apple guy, so he took on the iOS version. Meanwhile I'm primarily a Linux guy and work on FastMail's backend services, but also an Android user, so I did the Android version.
What it meant is that the other guy could make supporting UI tweaks as he needed, and I could make supporting backend tweaks as needed (eg push system integration), but we had to come together a lot to find the similarities and differences between the two platforms and do changes for each other.
It became a bit of a competition and we both were working very fast. We had something we could use every day in less than a month and we each learned a huge amount about the other person's area of speciality.
I'm fairly confident if we did just one app first we would have gone much slower and made some bad architectural decisions that would have hurt when we got onto the next platform. If we ever do a third platform client it'll be really easy.
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#5Finally. The web app seemed to have pretty limited functionality.
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#6Well done! I love FastMail, and am very glad that I switch from GMail. However, one of the best parts of FastMail is that it's just proper IMAP at the end of the day, so while I'm sure some people are going to love this app, I personally don't have much of a use for it.
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#7It seems to only be a slick wrapper around the website. No options, no unread message count on the icon, no ability to easily switch between mail and calendar... I love FastMail, and can't wait to see where they go with a 2.0 release.
It _should_ have an unread message count on the icon. But yes, the iOS version's only significant feature over the regular web app is the addition of realtime push notifications.
The Android app has a lot more right now, mostly because the web app experience has been pretty terrible in the stock Android browser so there was a lot more work needed to get it up to scratch.
Of course we'll keep working on it; we've got loads more plans :)
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#8Can't wait for their `Device contacts integration`.
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#9Well done! I love FastMail, and am very glad that I switch from GMail. However, one of the best parts of FastMail is that it's just proper IMAP at the end of the day, so while I'm sure some people are going to love this app, I personally don't have much of a use for it.
Fair enough, we love IMAP too, and there's no way its going anywhere. We've always cared about standards compliance and client choice, so use what you like and be happy! :)
Re: FastMail app for iOS and Android now available
#10I've been no waiting for this for so long! I have been using K9, and I love using a FOSS email client, but having native Fastmail support is just so much better. The native AOSP email app, for example, doesn't even allow you to choose which email address to send from when replying (that, or it's so hidden that I was unable to find it.) Unfortunately, like most AOSP apps, it's been effectively deprecated in favor of t…
It was actually a really interesting development process. We already had the web app, and our main UI developer is an Apple guy, so he took on the iOS version. Meanwhile I'm primarily a Linux guy and work on FastMail's backend services, but also an Android user, so I did the Android version. What it meant is that the other guy could make supporting UI tweaks as he needed, and I could make supporting backend tweaks as…
Fastmail is part of the open web. So why a proprietary client, instead of joining in with K9?