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Ever thought of accessing your mails offline while you are on the move? It might sound impossible but, thanks to Google – Gmail becomes accessible offline on Apple iPhone and Google Android phones. This latest development was showcased in the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain amidst much applause on Wednesday, 18th Feb, 2009.

Vic Gundotra, VP of engineering, Google demonstrated the mobile version of Gmail designed for both the iPhone and Google Android phones. The exception about this web-based application (for mobiles) is that besides accessing their email offline, it also brings support for Gmail's labels feature. Moreover, what makes this application unique is that it is browser-based and do not require any mobile software application downloads.

Offline Gmail Access – The Technical Concept

Much adulation has been received in the MWC, as Google showcased to the world this ‘technical-concept’ application of Gmail , which helps store information on the device it is used on - not only a user's data, but also the software itself.

The Gmail application from Google based on HTML5 (a new Web language) is supported by both iPhone and Android. Just as features rely on extensions in desktop, offline Gmail for mobiles is dependent on HTML5’s AppCache and database standards. This helped secure data availability during absence of internet connection, which means it requires no additional software downloads; which further ensures that the feature would work flawlessly across multiple operating systems just as long as they support HTML5.

However, the feature that is making people go gaga over the application is its capability to run on both Apple's iPhone and Google's Android mobile, without the installation of any application on the phone.
The soon to be launched Gmail web application, besides its breakthrough attribute of gaining offline email access, features a floating toolbar that tracks users' email browsing and also support for message labeling. The demonstration for this GMail web app was done on iPhone 3G and on a HTC Magic (T-Mobile G2) at the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona. However, any details on the possible launch of this application have not been divulged.

Beyond Offline Gmail Access

Apart from offline Gmail access on Apple iPhone, the search engine giant also showed off an HTML5 built browser version of Google Maps on the Palm Pre which offered all the functionality of a native client. Even though no announcement has formally been made yet on when Google will make a world-wide release of these new features, but the mobile scenario is certainly poised at an interesting juncture.