8 ms·

Sparrow for iPhone

147 points by _frog 15y ago

bgentry 15y ago
I've been waiting for a decent iOS Gmail client for so long. This is an excellent first release, far better than Google's own half-hearted attempt. Let's hope they get some traction petitioning for an acceptable method to send push notifications: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3706993 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3706993
- Xuzz 15y ago
  I think the issue here is that it isn't really "push" they want to do. From what I can tell, they want to do is simply "run all the time so we can keep a connection open to receive new messages immediately". Which, to be fair, is pretty similar to what Apple does for their push notifications. However, allowing this would be a bad move. It'd mean that rather than once centralized connection that knows about the device's network state and can (at least try to) preserver battery life, you'd then have as many as one per each app, always open. (Once Sparrow does this, then why could any other app not?) The real issue here is that, from their responses, it seems that Google doesn't have some sort of authentication method like that could be used to get access to just enough information to pass the push data to Apple — or, at least, not one (like OAuth) that doesn't need them to remotely store a username and password. If there was a way for them to get some sort of useless "token" to get the notifications themselves and pass them to Apple, I don't think the security issues would be anywhere near as severe (especially if it was an opt-in service). But I don't know if Google does that, and their responses don't seem encouraging that something like this would be possible.
  - bgentry 15y ago
    If there was a way for them to get some sort of useless "token" to get the notifications themselves and pass them to Apple, I don't think the security issues would be anywhere near as severe (especially if it was an opt-in service). Good point, that would be a much better solution. All they'd need is a web hook to let them know when there is new email for an account. They could use that to send a push notification with the correct badge count for unread messages. That's what we should really be petitioning for.
  - aaronblohowiak 15y ago
    google has an OAuth extension to IMAP for gmail https://developers.google.com/google-apps/gmail/oauth_overview https://developers.google.com/google-apps/gmail/oauth_overvi...
    - bgentry 15y ago
      That doesn't really solve the security concerns as their servers would still need to be authorized to read all of your email on your behalf. If that database was unknowingly compromised there could be a lot of fallout. I think that's a much bigger concern than leaking passwords.
      - Xuzz 15y ago
        Yeah: what we really want is a way to strictly limit Sparrow's permissions, so they can only see new mail as it is passed in, and maybe only just enough for something like push. However, that's really on Google's end to implement, and I'm not sure just how much interest they have in third party Gmail-specific mail clients.
  - mike-cardwell 15y ago
    Re push, I use an IMAP client called K-9 Mail on Android which has support for IMAP IDLE, which is basically the IMAP version of push. It keeps a constant connection open to my IMAP server and is immediately informed of any new mail. I have not noticed any reduction in battery performance since moving from 15 minute polls. I still get 1.5 to 2 days use out of it (HTC Desire Z). There's nothing inherently wrong with this on mobile devices. If Apple can't do it for iOS, that is a flaw in their design, or their thinking.
    - RandallBrown 15y ago
      sure, K-9 Mail works fine and implements everything correctly. But what happens when you have 4 or 5 apps that start polling constantly for updates because they don't want to deal with push notifications? I think Apple opening up this functionality would be a mistake that's open for abuse by other developers.
      - mike-cardwell 15y ago
        You think it would be harmful if iOS allowed apps to run in the background and make connections whenever they want? That's exactly the scenario we have with Android, and it's not a problem there...
    - randomdata 15y ago
      > I have not noticed any reduction in battery performance since moving from 15 minute polls. Push should be less taxing on the battery, since you only really need to fire up the radio when new data is coming your way, save any overhead of ensuring the connection is still alive. Apple does the same for their notifications (and ActiveSync) for the same reasons. > If Apple can't do it for iOS, that is a flaw in their design, or their thinking. It's not really a flaw, just a different methodology that is reasonable given the design goals. If you want iOS to be like Android, why not just use Android? That's the beauty of competition – you are free to choose the best.
- drivebyacct2 15y ago
  I don't understand that page at all. It doesn't explain why the app was rejected or why they can't use the native iOS pushing. In fact, I'm quite unsure of what is unique about their use-case for push notifications that is different than... any other similar task in iOS.
  - Pheter 15y ago
    The iOS push notification service works by having a remote server determine when a push notification needs to be displayed to the user. The only way for Sparrow to do this would be to store the gmail credentials of every user who uses their application on a server (instead of each individual users iPhone). This would obviously introduce a lot of security considerations that Sparrow don't want to have to deal with. Alternatively, Apple provide an API that certain apps may use to regular check for updates by running code on the iPhone, but Apple are not allowing Sparrow to use this API.
    - lloeki 15y ago
      When Apple announced the various background task "modes" available (push, call placing, audio recording/playing, task completion) I immediately noticed that one use case was missing, and that's something like cron/at. Just like Apple allows tasks to run for a few moments for completion, they could allow tasks to run at scheduled times or intervals for a very limited time span, and maybe limit the number of apps/triggers allowed. This would cover many use cases, such as alarm clocks, calendar notifications, and various poll-based background checking like new email count, maybe even headers fetching, while retaining control of watt usage. In the meantime, I suppose Sparrow could integrate with Prowl.
    - drivebyacct2 15y ago
      Why can't they use SSL to transmit oauth tokens to their server?
      - Pheter 15y ago
        The point is not that it can't be done securely, it's that they don't want the hassle of being responsible for a large amount of sensitive information. By not storing the information in the first place they can guarantee that they won't be hacked and have their customers data stolen.
pablasso 15y ago
I can't get into my head why Google, with so many resources, can't a least do something like Sparrow for iOS.
- _frog 15y ago
  To take the cynical standpoint, it's hardly in their best interests to make a first-class app for a competing platform.
  - tomkr 15y ago
    Why not? If Google gives me a crappy mail app on my iPhone I am definitely not switching to Android. On the other hand, if it is high quality I may actually be tempted to switch.
    - natesm 15y ago
      Indeed, Microsoft continually puts out great iPhone apps (with a visual style that I wish was the standard on iOS).
  - guywithabike 15y ago
    Such are the vagaries of being a large corporation -- your various departments' goals become increasingly at odds with one another. The Android team wants their platform to be successful. Part of that means not releasing top-tier applications for competing platforms. Gmail wants their service to be successful. Part of that means releasing top-tier applications for as many platforms as possible. It's clear, here, that Google places Gmail below Android in their list of priorities. I'm curious about which one of those departments earns more money, though, and which one is more strategically important for the long-term success of Google. John Siracusa explains this same scenario as it appears to be happening at Apple extremely well in this episode of his fantastic podcast: http://5by5.tv/hypercritical/8 http://5by5.tv/hypercritical/8
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - 15y ago
yangez 15y ago
This is worth the $3 just for the working search functionality and the ability to view your sent messages. The awesome UI is just a bonus.
phil 15y ago
Tiny swipable page indicator in the nav bar title: awesome. Replacing swipe-to-delete on a message with back/pop: not so good. It's really nicely done overall. Totally rethought from their desktop app.
veidr 15y ago
Wow, this looks like a really good IMAP client for the phone. A major limitation of the built-in iOS Mail app is that it has no facility to combine sent/received mail into one conversation view (unlike Mail on the Mac). Sparrow also features a nice polished UI, and is responsive. 3-minutes-of-use verdict: GOOD
Dramatize 15y ago
Bought it as soon as it was available. Their OSX app was one of the first I bought when switching to Mac.
switz 15y ago
I truly appreciate their caution in storing my personal information on their servers, but unfortunately it's just not practical to use until there is proper push. Hopefully Apple hears their pleas and allow it. This app looks gorgeous.
nodesocket 15y ago
Just download and paid for the OSX app. It's really nice, love the unified inbox, pulls labels from gMail, and also you can create e-mail alias like (sales, support) and send from those alias. Highly recommended.
dwynings 15y ago
I've been a beta tester of their iPhone app for over a month now, and while the UI is stellar, I still haven't found it to be a replacement for Apple's Mail app because of Sparrow's lack of push.
- _frog 15y ago
  On top of that there's no way to set it as the default system mail client, otherwise a fantastic app.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- farslan 15y ago
  Unless Apple change his policy about Push (API) there is little Sparrow can do. Spaarrow is aware of this. They have a page dedicated to this Push problem: http://sparrowmailapp.com/push.php http://sparrowmailapp.com/push.php
  - vpdn 15y ago
    There's something that they can do, it's written as the first option: "On our side: if Sparrow was to do Push today, we would have to store your credentials (login/password) on our servers to frequently poll your accounts, and send you notifications. This is a responsibility we're not ready to take. As a startup focused on iOS/OS X development, we do not have the skills to secure your data on our servers and we do not want to put sensitive information at risk."
    - tomkr 15y ago
      I like that they're being honest about this and are focussing on what they are good at. The request push option, useless as it may be with Apple in charge, might be just what is needed. As they already state, allowing an e-mail app into the app store in the first place is a step in the right direction. Why not try to prod Apple to take another one.
zschallz 15y ago
I'm becoming very irritated with Apple's behavior in the app store. While it's nothing new, I hate that they're restricting apps that compete with native apps. Sparrow? No push notifications for you. Dolphin? Here's an NC17 rating (wtf?) for you, and by the way-- no way to change the default browser. I'd really like to see a reasonable explanation for both of these scenarios by Apple. My guess is the only reasonable explanation is that they want to restrict and "protect" the user experience for that critical functionality in a way that seems like an ornery chef who refuses to cook your steak medium well.
- Xuzz 15y ago
  I tried to explain it here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3707183 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3707183 More condensed, it's a combination of Apple not wanting each app re-implementing push (or constant polling), Sparrow not willing to take on the responsibility of being able to access your email, and Google not providing low-privileges access for Sparrow to only be able to see the little amount of data that push needs.
- Terretta 15y ago
  Apple's happy to let Sparrow use push. Sparrow didn't want to use push, they want to poll. Allowing that would be good for time-pressed or unskilled devs, but bad for users. Sparrow admittedly doesn't want to figure out how to do push securely. But look at the fantastic PushMail app (dopushmail.com) to see a beautiful push implementation. Apple's not blocking push. // Too bad about dopushmail.com having to stop selling the app. That leaves an opportunity for someone...
ivanstojic 15y ago
I have several (breaking) issues with the paid desktop version of the Sparrow.app. I've posted the most bothersome one on their support forums about two weeks ago: no reply at all. Nothing. As a company that does epic UI, they should figure out that customer support is a form of user interface as well. I'm not ready to give them any more money at this point.
- sleepyhead 15y ago
  I had severe issues too with the Mac app too, like lost email drafts. The problem is that email is difficult to handle. Sparrow does an excellent job with the UI and while that part was ready for a 1.0 release the email handling was not. It takes a lot of manual testing due to the way other email applications and servers abuses email standards. They released it to early for it to be labeled stable IMHO. The current release is decent though, but still found bugs and it has been a while since the latest update (they must have put all resources on the iPhone-app). Hopefully they haven't done the same mistakes with the iPhone-app. Looks great with my limited testing so far and I have replaced my main Mail-icon on my home screen.
- freshfey 15y ago
  Same thing happened to me. To be fair though, I had issues with the app around a year ago and they promptly answered. It seems like they are a bit swamped with support issues now.
  - ivanstojic 15y ago
    "swamped ... now" might be an understatement. From the looks of their support page (https://sparrowmail.tenderapp.com/discussions/questions https://sparrowmail.tenderapp.com/discussions/questions) - the last reply actually made by sparrow support was on December 8.
    - sleepyhead 15y ago
      Their support forum is kinda weird. Every time I add a question it ends up as private. I assume that is why there is a lack of public activity there.
dawson 15y ago
I'm using (and loving) it, until notifications are available then boxcar is a temporary solution, for me at least.
- railsjedi 15y ago
  Would love to see a writeup on how to set up boxcar for as a replacement. Maybe Sparrow should implement their push notifications by just integrating with Boxcar and making it idiot proof.
  - jdg 15y ago
    http://www.sparrowmailapp.com/iphone/faq/articles/PushBoxcar.html http://www.sparrowmailapp.com/iphone/faq/articles/PushBoxcar... And we'll have a blog post up at http://blog.boxcar.io http://blog.boxcar.io here soon too. It's a bit easier than the above now, as you can just choose "Sparrow" from the list of Installed Clients to have it work.
dteoh 15y ago
I wonder if they have plans to turn this into a universal app or if we will have to purchase another version for the iPad (not that I'm complaining about paying for a valuable product).
mike-cardwell 15y ago
Has anyone tested this client with The Email Privacy Tester yet? https://grepular.com/email_privacy_tester/ https://grepular.com/email_privacy_tester/ - I'd do it myself, but I don't have an iOS device.
- ropiku 15y ago
  Here's my result: http://cl.ly/1p2M3C462Y0E0u0F0w3b http://cl.ly/1p2M3C462Y0E0u0F0w3b
  - mike-cardwell 15y ago
    Interesting that it seems to loads remote Flash content. I wonder if you could do anything nefarious with that capability. I don't know Flash enough to comment.
- Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
  Leaks on 12 out of 32.
  - mike-cardwell 15y ago
    Does it have an option to enable/disable automatic loading of remote images? If so, what is it set to by default? And does it still leak if you disable loading of remote images?
    - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
      No such option that I can see.
      - mike-cardwell 15y ago
        Can anyone confirm this? I've never seen an email client that lacks such an option...
      - jmreid 15y ago
martind81 15y ago
This app's really awesome. 2 small annoying things though, that I hope will be fixed later is: › the freeze for a few seconds when I open the app (on an iPhone 4S) › the lack of push
railsjedi 15y ago
Sparrow on iPhone is amazing. Takes an app like this to really show how old and crusty the default mail app has become for power users. I really hope this trend continues and we can see power user replacements for Safari and Calendar as well.
bbx 15y ago
They posted several icon drafts on Dribbble to gather feedback from the users, but it doesn't seem like they listened to the suggestions (or maybe they didn't have time to submit a new icon?). http://dribbble.com/shots/442430-Sparrow-iPhone-icon http://dribbble.com/shots/442430-Sparrow-iPhone-icon
cburgas 15y ago
Just installed it on my iPhone. I like it so far but it definitely needs landscape mode while writing an email
martingordon 15y ago
This is nice, and the lack of push notifications can be seen as a feature – less distractions! One possible solution to that issue is to build a push notification server into the desktop version so they wouldn't have to store your credentials. One thing that keeps me from using Sparrow for OS X (or any other desktop client) is that they download every email, and I don't want to spare the 7 GB of hard drive space for something I don't need every day. Mail for iOS lets me choose to store only the last X messages on the device, but I haven't seen that option on any desktop client.
- klausa 15y ago
  You could emulate that behavior by setting up filters in Mail.app on OS X, that would delete messages older than X days, for what it's worth.
  - martingordon 15y ago
    Wouldn't that also delete the from my IMAP server (in my case, Gmail)? I'd also be worried about deleting the messages from my [All Mail] folder, which is what I have a real issue with (my inbox is rarely very large).
- goddamnhippie 15y ago
  Sparrow for Mac has the option to chose to download messages on demand. It's on Preferences > Advanced.
sidwyn 15y ago
I hate the swipe function on each cell. They should do it like how Tweetie used to.
- flyosity 15y ago
  Due to how they implemented the "panels" interface, swiping left-to-right on a row will pull the entire panel, so they had to implement it as only right-to-left to expose the actions. Kinda annoying, but it was a design decision forced on them by another design decision they made.
  - sidwyn 15y ago
    I meant they should remove the gradual swipe, and do a full swipe once the touch moves say 30px, instead of the cell moving along with my thumb.
dr_ 15y ago
When your email client wants to be able to post as you on your Facebook wall, that's never a good thing.
- samnm 15y ago
  As far as I know it only uses Facebook to pull display pictures for received emails, which is actually a pretty cool feature.
  - stock_toaster 15y ago
    I wonder why they don't use gravatar. They have the email handy already.
krmmalik 15y ago
I've tried a number of email clients on the iPhone. In the end, i nearly always end up reverting back to the default app. There's something about the simplicity of it that always brings me back. That said, the other apps were always slower fetching mail from gmail which never helps. The only app that i have found to be very good is the gmail for iPhone app, but i only use it occasionally when the default app cant find an email address from my gmail address book. I should really use the gmail app more. Its mostly good enough. Either way, whichever app i settle with in the end, its going to be the one that is the quickest in operation.
smerickson 15y ago
this is outstanding. Does anyone know if you can change the color of labels? they don't match my gmail label colors.
joering2 15y ago
Just quick question, since I lost a track of AppStore Developer's guides&rules: wasn't there a rule that an app that is copying functionality provided in iOS will not be approved? Was that changed? Aside of this email app, I dont see any music players for my iPod other than the native Apple app (I see plenty of opportunities for an upgrade).
- Terretta 15y ago
  There are lots of alternative music players. I use the SRS Labs' "MyTunes" for example, which is even iTunes Match savvy.
sprog 15y ago
If this doesn't support pop, it's not worth my time.
dbg9 15y ago
Doesn't support Outlook... just a warning to anyone who assumed it would support everything the default mail client on the phone supported.
artursapek 15y ago
Did one of the founders go to RISD? It was weird seeing my school's president on the splash page.
ksajadi 15y ago
Lack of push was a deal breaker for me. They argue they don't want to store the credentials on their servers, but at least with Gmail they don't need to as it supports OAuth. The only issue I can see is holding the IMAP IDLE connections open for thousands of users which can be a bi* and a half to get right. Although http://www.nuevasync.com/ http://www.nuevasync.com/ guys have done it successfully.

147 points by _frog 15y ago

I've been waiting for a decent iOS Gmail client for so long. This is an excellent first release, far better than Google's own half-hearted attempt. Let's hope they get some traction petitioning for an acceptable method to send push notifications: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3706993 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3706993

Xuzz 15y ago
I think the issue here is that it isn't really "push" they want to do. From what I can tell, they want to do is simply "run all the time so we can keep a connection open to receive new messages immediately". Which, to be fair, is pretty similar to what Apple does for their push notifications. However, allowing this would be a bad move. It'd mean that rather than once centralized connection that knows about the device's network state and can (at least try to) preserver battery life, you'd then have as many as one per each app, always open. (Once Sparrow does this, then why could any other app not?) The real issue here is that, from their responses, it seems that Google doesn't have some sort of authentication method like that could be used to get access to just enough information to pass the push data to Apple — or, at least, not one (like OAuth) that doesn't need them to remotely store a username and password. If there was a way for them to get some sort of useless "token" to get the notifications themselves and pass them to Apple, I don't think the security issues would be anywhere near as severe (especially if it was an opt-in service). But I don't know if Google does that, and their responses don't seem encouraging that something like this would be possible.
- bgentry 15y ago
  If there was a way for them to get some sort of useless "token" to get the notifications themselves and pass them to Apple, I don't think the security issues would be anywhere near as severe (especially if it was an opt-in service). Good point, that would be a much better solution. All they'd need is a web hook to let them know when there is new email for an account. They could use that to send a push notification with the correct badge count for unread messages. That's what we should really be petitioning for.
- aaronblohowiak 15y ago
  google has an OAuth extension to IMAP for gmail https://developers.google.com/google-apps/gmail/oauth_overview https://developers.google.com/google-apps/gmail/oauth_overvi...
  - bgentry 15y ago
    That doesn't really solve the security concerns as their servers would still need to be authorized to read all of your email on your behalf. If that database was unknowingly compromised there could be a lot of fallout. I think that's a much bigger concern than leaking passwords.
    - Xuzz 15y ago
      Yeah: what we really want is a way to strictly limit Sparrow's permissions, so they can only see new mail as it is passed in, and maybe only just enough for something like push. However, that's really on Google's end to implement, and I'm not sure just how much interest they have in third party Gmail-specific mail clients.
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  Re push, I use an IMAP client called K-9 Mail on Android which has support for IMAP IDLE, which is basically the IMAP version of push. It keeps a constant connection open to my IMAP server and is immediately informed of any new mail. I have not noticed any reduction in battery performance since moving from 15 minute polls. I still get 1.5 to 2 days use out of it (HTC Desire Z). There's nothing inherently wrong with this on mobile devices. If Apple can't do it for iOS, that is a flaw in their design, or their thinking.
  - RandallBrown 15y ago
    sure, K-9 Mail works fine and implements everything correctly. But what happens when you have 4 or 5 apps that start polling constantly for updates because they don't want to deal with push notifications? I think Apple opening up this functionality would be a mistake that's open for abuse by other developers.
    - mike-cardwell 15y ago
      You think it would be harmful if iOS allowed apps to run in the background and make connections whenever they want? That's exactly the scenario we have with Android, and it's not a problem there...
  - randomdata 15y ago
    > I have not noticed any reduction in battery performance since moving from 15 minute polls. Push should be less taxing on the battery, since you only really need to fire up the radio when new data is coming your way, save any overhead of ensuring the connection is still alive. Apple does the same for their notifications (and ActiveSync) for the same reasons. > If Apple can't do it for iOS, that is a flaw in their design, or their thinking. It's not really a flaw, just a different methodology that is reasonable given the design goals. If you want iOS to be like Android, why not just use Android? That's the beauty of competition – you are free to choose the best.
drivebyacct2 15y ago
I don't understand that page at all. It doesn't explain why the app was rejected or why they can't use the native iOS pushing. In fact, I'm quite unsure of what is unique about their use-case for push notifications that is different than... any other similar task in iOS.
- Pheter 15y ago
  The iOS push notification service works by having a remote server determine when a push notification needs to be displayed to the user. The only way for Sparrow to do this would be to store the gmail credentials of every user who uses their application on a server (instead of each individual users iPhone). This would obviously introduce a lot of security considerations that Sparrow don't want to have to deal with. Alternatively, Apple provide an API that certain apps may use to regular check for updates by running code on the iPhone, but Apple are not allowing Sparrow to use this API.
  - lloeki 15y ago
    When Apple announced the various background task "modes" available (push, call placing, audio recording/playing, task completion) I immediately noticed that one use case was missing, and that's something like cron/at. Just like Apple allows tasks to run for a few moments for completion, they could allow tasks to run at scheduled times or intervals for a very limited time span, and maybe limit the number of apps/triggers allowed. This would cover many use cases, such as alarm clocks, calendar notifications, and various poll-based background checking like new email count, maybe even headers fetching, while retaining control of watt usage. In the meantime, I suppose Sparrow could integrate with Prowl.
  - drivebyacct2 15y ago
    Why can't they use SSL to transmit oauth tokens to their server?
    - Pheter 15y ago
      The point is not that it can't be done securely, it's that they don't want the hassle of being responsible for a large amount of sensitive information. By not storing the information in the first place they can guarantee that they won't be hacked and have their customers data stolen.

pablasso 15y ago

I can't get into my head why Google, with so many resources, can't a least do something like Sparrow for iOS.

_frog 15y ago
To take the cynical standpoint, it's hardly in their best interests to make a first-class app for a competing platform.
- tomkr 15y ago
  Why not? If Google gives me a crappy mail app on my iPhone I am definitely not switching to Android. On the other hand, if it is high quality I may actually be tempted to switch.
  - natesm 15y ago
    Indeed, Microsoft continually puts out great iPhone apps (with a visual style that I wish was the standard on iOS).
- guywithabike 15y ago
  Such are the vagaries of being a large corporation -- your various departments' goals become increasingly at odds with one another. The Android team wants their platform to be successful. Part of that means not releasing top-tier applications for competing platforms. Gmail wants their service to be successful. Part of that means releasing top-tier applications for as many platforms as possible. It's clear, here, that Google places Gmail below Android in their list of priorities. I'm curious about which one of those departments earns more money, though, and which one is more strategically important for the long-term success of Google. John Siracusa explains this same scenario as it appears to be happening at Apple extremely well in this episode of his fantastic podcast: http://5by5.tv/hypercritical/8 http://5by5.tv/hypercritical/8
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- 15y ago

yangez 15y ago

This is worth the $3 just for the working search functionality and the ability to view your sent messages. The awesome UI is just a bonus.

phil 15y ago

Tiny swipable page indicator in the nav bar title: awesome. Replacing swipe-to-delete on a message with back/pop: not so good. It's really nicely done overall. Totally rethought from their desktop app.

veidr 15y ago

Wow, this looks like a really good IMAP client for the phone. A major limitation of the built-in iOS Mail app is that it has no facility to combine sent/received mail into one conversation view (unlike Mail on the Mac). Sparrow also features a nice polished UI, and is responsive. 3-minutes-of-use verdict: GOOD

Dramatize 15y ago

Bought it as soon as it was available. Their OSX app was one of the first I bought when switching to Mac.

switz 15y ago

I truly appreciate their caution in storing my personal information on their servers, but unfortunately it's just not practical to use until there is proper push. Hopefully Apple hears their pleas and allow it. This app looks gorgeous.

nodesocket 15y ago

Just download and paid for the OSX app. It's really nice, love the unified inbox, pulls labels from gMail, and also you can create e-mail alias like (sales, support) and send from those alias. Highly recommended.

dwynings 15y ago

I've been a beta tester of their iPhone app for over a month now, and while the UI is stellar, I still haven't found it to be a replacement for Apple's Mail app because of Sparrow's lack of push.

_frog 15y ago
On top of that there's no way to set it as the default system mail client, otherwise a fantastic app.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
farslan 15y ago
Unless Apple change his policy about Push (API) there is little Sparrow can do. Spaarrow is aware of this. They have a page dedicated to this Push problem: http://sparrowmailapp.com/push.php http://sparrowmailapp.com/push.php
- vpdn 15y ago
  There's something that they can do, it's written as the first option: "On our side: if Sparrow was to do Push today, we would have to store your credentials (login/password) on our servers to frequently poll your accounts, and send you notifications. This is a responsibility we're not ready to take. As a startup focused on iOS/OS X development, we do not have the skills to secure your data on our servers and we do not want to put sensitive information at risk."
  - tomkr 15y ago
    I like that they're being honest about this and are focussing on what they are good at. The request push option, useless as it may be with Apple in charge, might be just what is needed. As they already state, allowing an e-mail app into the app store in the first place is a step in the right direction. Why not try to prod Apple to take another one.

zschallz 15y ago

I'm becoming very irritated with Apple's behavior in the app store. While it's nothing new, I hate that they're restricting apps that compete with native apps. Sparrow? No push notifications for you. Dolphin? Here's an NC17 rating (wtf?) for you, and by the way-- no way to change the default browser. I'd really like to see a reasonable explanation for both of these scenarios by Apple. My guess is the only reasonable explanation is that they want to restrict and "protect" the user experience for that critical functionality in a way that seems like an ornery chef who refuses to cook your steak medium well.

Xuzz 15y ago
I tried to explain it here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3707183 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3707183 More condensed, it's a combination of Apple not wanting each app re-implementing push (or constant polling), Sparrow not willing to take on the responsibility of being able to access your email, and Google not providing low-privileges access for Sparrow to only be able to see the little amount of data that push needs.
Terretta 15y ago
Apple's happy to let Sparrow use push. Sparrow didn't want to use push, they want to poll. Allowing that would be good for time-pressed or unskilled devs, but bad for users. Sparrow admittedly doesn't want to figure out how to do push securely. But look at the fantastic PushMail app (dopushmail.com) to see a beautiful push implementation. Apple's not blocking push. // Too bad about dopushmail.com having to stop selling the app. That leaves an opportunity for someone...

ivanstojic 15y ago

I have several (breaking) issues with the paid desktop version of the Sparrow.app. I've posted the most bothersome one on their support forums about two weeks ago: no reply at all. Nothing. As a company that does epic UI, they should figure out that customer support is a form of user interface as well. I'm not ready to give them any more money at this point.

sleepyhead 15y ago
I had severe issues too with the Mac app too, like lost email drafts. The problem is that email is difficult to handle. Sparrow does an excellent job with the UI and while that part was ready for a 1.0 release the email handling was not. It takes a lot of manual testing due to the way other email applications and servers abuses email standards. They released it to early for it to be labeled stable IMHO. The current release is decent though, but still found bugs and it has been a while since the latest update (they must have put all resources on the iPhone-app). Hopefully they haven't done the same mistakes with the iPhone-app. Looks great with my limited testing so far and I have replaced my main Mail-icon on my home screen.
freshfey 15y ago
Same thing happened to me. To be fair though, I had issues with the app around a year ago and they promptly answered. It seems like they are a bit swamped with support issues now.
- ivanstojic 15y ago
  "swamped ... now" might be an understatement. From the looks of their support page (https://sparrowmail.tenderapp.com/discussions/questions https://sparrowmail.tenderapp.com/discussions/questions) - the last reply actually made by sparrow support was on December 8.
  - sleepyhead 15y ago
    Their support forum is kinda weird. Every time I add a question it ends up as private. I assume that is why there is a lack of public activity there.

dawson 15y ago

I'm using (and loving) it, until notifications are available then boxcar is a temporary solution, for me at least.

railsjedi 15y ago
Would love to see a writeup on how to set up boxcar for as a replacement. Maybe Sparrow should implement their push notifications by just integrating with Boxcar and making it idiot proof.
- jdg 15y ago
  http://www.sparrowmailapp.com/iphone/faq/articles/PushBoxcar.html http://www.sparrowmailapp.com/iphone/faq/articles/PushBoxcar... And we'll have a blog post up at http://blog.boxcar.io http://blog.boxcar.io here soon too. It's a bit easier than the above now, as you can just choose "Sparrow" from the list of Installed Clients to have it work.

dteoh 15y ago

I wonder if they have plans to turn this into a universal app or if we will have to purchase another version for the iPad (not that I'm complaining about paying for a valuable product).

mike-cardwell 15y ago

Has anyone tested this client with The Email Privacy Tester yet? https://grepular.com/email_privacy_tester/ https://grepular.com/email_privacy_tester/ - I'd do it myself, but I don't have an iOS device.

ropiku 15y ago
Here's my result: http://cl.ly/1p2M3C462Y0E0u0F0w3b http://cl.ly/1p2M3C462Y0E0u0F0w3b
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  Interesting that it seems to loads remote Flash content. I wonder if you could do anything nefarious with that capability. I don't know Flash enough to comment.
Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
Leaks on 12 out of 32.
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  Does it have an option to enable/disable automatic loading of remote images? If so, what is it set to by default? And does it still leak if you disable loading of remote images?
  - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
    No such option that I can see.
    - mike-cardwell 15y ago
      Can anyone confirm this? I've never seen an email client that lacks such an option...
    - jmreid 15y ago

martind81 15y ago

This app's really awesome. 2 small annoying things though, that I hope will be fixed later is: › the freeze for a few seconds when I open the app (on an iPhone 4S) › the lack of push

railsjedi 15y ago

Sparrow on iPhone is amazing. Takes an app like this to really show how old and crusty the default mail app has become for power users. I really hope this trend continues and we can see power user replacements for Safari and Calendar as well.

bbx 15y ago

They posted several icon drafts on Dribbble to gather feedback from the users, but it doesn't seem like they listened to the suggestions (or maybe they didn't have time to submit a new icon?). http://dribbble.com/shots/442430-Sparrow-iPhone-icon http://dribbble.com/shots/442430-Sparrow-iPhone-icon

cburgas 15y ago

Just installed it on my iPhone. I like it so far but it definitely needs landscape mode while writing an email

martingordon 15y ago

This is nice, and the lack of push notifications can be seen as a feature – less distractions! One possible solution to that issue is to build a push notification server into the desktop version so they wouldn't have to store your credentials. One thing that keeps me from using Sparrow for OS X (or any other desktop client) is that they download every email, and I don't want to spare the 7 GB of hard drive space for something I don't need every day. Mail for iOS lets me choose to store only the last X messages on the device, but I haven't seen that option on any desktop client.

klausa 15y ago
You could emulate that behavior by setting up filters in Mail.app on OS X, that would delete messages older than X days, for what it's worth.
- martingordon 15y ago
  Wouldn't that also delete the from my IMAP server (in my case, Gmail)? I'd also be worried about deleting the messages from my [All Mail] folder, which is what I have a real issue with (my inbox is rarely very large).
goddamnhippie 15y ago
Sparrow for Mac has the option to chose to download messages on demand. It's on Preferences > Advanced.

sidwyn 15y ago

I hate the swipe function on each cell. They should do it like how Tweetie used to.

flyosity 15y ago
Due to how they implemented the "panels" interface, swiping left-to-right on a row will pull the entire panel, so they had to implement it as only right-to-left to expose the actions. Kinda annoying, but it was a design decision forced on them by another design decision they made.
- sidwyn 15y ago
  I meant they should remove the gradual swipe, and do a full swipe once the touch moves say 30px, instead of the cell moving along with my thumb.

dr_ 15y ago

When your email client wants to be able to post as you on your Facebook wall, that's never a good thing.

samnm 15y ago
As far as I know it only uses Facebook to pull display pictures for received emails, which is actually a pretty cool feature.
- stock_toaster 15y ago
  I wonder why they don't use gravatar. They have the email handy already.

krmmalik 15y ago

I've tried a number of email clients on the iPhone. In the end, i nearly always end up reverting back to the default app. There's something about the simplicity of it that always brings me back. That said, the other apps were always slower fetching mail from gmail which never helps. The only app that i have found to be very good is the gmail for iPhone app, but i only use it occasionally when the default app cant find an email address from my gmail address book. I should really use the gmail app more. Its mostly good enough. Either way, whichever app i settle with in the end, its going to be the one that is the quickest in operation.

smerickson 15y ago

this is outstanding. Does anyone know if you can change the color of labels? they don't match my gmail label colors.

joering2 15y ago

Just quick question, since I lost a track of AppStore Developer's guides&rules: wasn't there a rule that an app that is copying functionality provided in iOS will not be approved? Was that changed? Aside of this email app, I dont see any music players for my iPod other than the native Apple app (I see plenty of opportunities for an upgrade).

Terretta 15y ago
There are lots of alternative music players. I use the SRS Labs' "MyTunes" for example, which is even iTunes Match savvy.

sprog 15y ago

If this doesn't support pop, it's not worth my time.

dbg9 15y ago

Doesn't support Outlook... just a warning to anyone who assumed it would support everything the default mail client on the phone supported.

artursapek 15y ago

Did one of the founders go to RISD? It was weird seeing my school's president on the splash page.

ksajadi 15y ago

Lack of push was a deal breaker for me. They argue they don't want to store the credentials on their servers, but at least with Gmail they don't need to as it supports OAuth. The only issue I can see is holding the IMAP IDLE connections open for thousands of users which can be a bi* and a half to get right. Although http://www.nuevasync.com/ http://www.nuevasync.com/ guys have done it successfully.