Gmail Mobile Released

J2ME phones access their Gmail accounts in a way that is up to five times faster than the simple mobile web browser access, is optimized for lesss clicking and fewer keystrokes for reading, composing, or searching mail, and automatically resized attachments. I've heard good things about it, but the J2ME format means I will never get a chance to actually use it. For now, we can all gaze at these images: Coverage by MobileCrunch, Philipp and Going to Google.com on my phone gets me a search box, with options for Web, Images, Local and "Mobile Web", and links to News, Gmail, and the online version of the personalized homepage. Web search is excellent, Google Maps application for Treo devices. What this reveals is a lack of strategy, a lack of keeping it simple for your users, no clear path for a mobile user to just type in google.com and get what they want. The no-bull rundown: When you type ask.com in your mobile phone, what do you get? Read my positive review, or just understand that it automatically redirects you to a portal with web search, email, blogging, local search, instant messaging, personalized homepage, msn.com, MSNBC, FOX Sports, weather, financial news, entertainment news, and calendaring. It uses straight-up normal HTML, so it works on every phone. When you type google.com in your mobile, what do you get? A mobile search engine. The portal is mobile.google.com, and it has redundant and non-working features. It uses a mishmash of incompatible technologies that work on different phones at different times, with no clear directions. You can read my positive review when I've got something positive to say about it. Bookmark Murdok: InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines. Visit the

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