First, I tried Inky. Then, Postbox. And now, I’ve given Sparrow a few weeks to prove itself.
For those that may have missed my previous reviews (here and here), I’ve been trying to get my email under control so it no longer controls me. I’ve had a few things in mind as I try them out. All my email accounts are through Gmail and I want to keep each of the accounts separate through Google’s online Gmail interface, but I also want the ability to use a unified inbox when I need to. The purpose of finding such a desktop app is to make my email workflow faster and more efficient, so I don’t get so behind when tackling my inbox.
Now I think I’ve finally found what I am looking for!
While Inky was super-awesome simple and Postbox was crazy-powerful, it is Sparrow that is settling with me really well.
Sparrow
WARNING: Google purchased Sparrow a few years ago. That’s both good and bad. While there hasn’t been updates and it would seem as though Google has abandoned the app, they do offer a free version. While I wouldn’t hesitate dropping the $9.99 on a good app (and removing the built-in ads), I hate to invest in an app that is no longer in development. So in the meantime, I will enjoy using it and will search for an alternative if the app finally dies off.
I Like It!
Sparrow has been a nice balance between something simple like Inky, but powerful like Postbox. It integrates really well with Google email tags and folders, and includes just the right options and features like email search. If you’ve spent a lot of time in the Gmail web interface, you’ll find moving to Sparrow to be much smoother than most desktop apps.
When it comes to email options, you’re not going to find a lot of power here. It’s the simplicity of Sparrow that makes it shine. With multiple inboxes, I could easily switch between each account or the unified inbox to include them all at once. If you are setting-up multiple accounts, be sure to select your default email address when using the ‘compose’ button. This way it defaults to your favorite or most used email address and you know that you’ll need to switch it when you want to send from a different email address. As for replies, Sparrow simply defaults to the email address it was sent to when using the quick reply feature or the full featured composer.
Here’s what Sparrow looks like:
Screenshots
I am happy with how Sparrow is working and have yet to fall under the same kind of email avalanche that was plaguing me before. If Sparrow begins to break or finally folds like many other Google buyouts, I’ll probably take a look at Airmail. I am on the Beta team for it and it reminds me a lot of Sparrow, so imagine it would make a solid replacement.
In the meantime, I’ll keep sending my emails with Sparrow.
Heidi Zinn says
Have you tried sparrow on your phone, or are you strong enough not to have email on your phone?
Eric Dye says
I have learned the importance of living life unplugged (but I’ve heard it’s good). 😉
James Cooper says
I use Mailplane http://mailplaneapp.com/ all the goodness of multiple Gmail accounts but in one app (Mac only)!
I put a different theme on each account, so I can quickly see which one I’m in. There’s normally at least three accounts open at once 😉
Eric Dye says
You’ve forced my hand, James. Any app you like is ALWAYS worth a try! 😀
Andrew Fallows says
This is a nitpick, so don’t worry about it too much, but I thoroughly appreciate it when app/software reviews for products that are platform dependent put a mention toward the top of the article about the platform the software runs on.
I’ve been reading ChurchMag long enough to know that we’ve forever lost you to the deep, dark, treacherous abyss of Apple, Eric, but I was still hoping that Sparrow would be Win/Mac, and alas, it is not. An alert at the top that said “This is an OSX/iOS only product” would have spared me getting my hopes up.
But it’s not a major deal in this case because I like Postbox and it IS Win/Mac, so I’ll just stick with it!
Eric Dye says
Not a nitpick at all, Andrew. I absolutely LOVE this feedback. Thank you!!!
In the future, I will not only try to do a better job of stating it, but also covering Windows base apps.
Also, if you ever want to write for us, let me know. 😉
tony says
Looks like it is only for apple products.
Heidi Zinn says
I use Sparrow on my phone, didn’t realize it was available as desktop until you wrote the review. I love it on my phone, and would love to use desktop, but alas, my desktop isn’t apple.