Gmail goes mobile

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The Google revolution continues. This time the search engine is staking a claim on the world of mobile email with its new Gmail Mobile service.

Launched today with some typically fresh-thinking innovations it’s available to all for free, regardless of mobile network – though you may have trouble on 3 – which still prevents users straying beyond its list of selected external sites.

But if you’re with any other provider, simply tap m.gmail.com into your WAP browser. Et voila – Gmail on your phone.

Prior to the service going online, the only way to get Gmails on your moby was to use the POP download option. That, however, meant downloading every email in your inbox – attachments and all – to your chug-along handset. Now, with online access it’s far easier to quickly check for any important messages and fire off a few replies.

And there are some nice bonus services too, such as attachment viewers for PDFs and Word files. These work a treat, converting documents into raw text to read on the phone screen. It can also handle photos, which on our Nokia N70 could be opened and saved into the phone’s gallery – nice.

There are a few limitations – you can’t send attachments, for one – but after a good play around today, this looks like another winning service from Google.