Review: Evomail for iPad is a ho-hum option for Gmail users

There are so many email applications available that any newcomer has to have a nifty addition to stand out from the App Store crowd. Recent products like Triage and Mailbox, which both feature intuitive tools for getting down to “inbox zero,” fulfill this promise. Another new offering—Evomail, a $3 iPad app for Gmail users—is competent, but it’s barely distinguishable from Gmail’s own, free iOS client.

I spent some time with Evomail when it first launched, and found several similarities between Evomail and Gmail. Both apps let you access multiple Gmail accounts, search your entire mail archives, see threaded conversations and profile pictures, and send attachments more easily than Apple’s native Mail app.

Evomail has a couple of things, though, that Gmail doesn’t, gestures being the most noticeable. Swipe an email from right to left, and you’re given the option of releasing a reply to the original sender; pull a little further to reply to everybody in the recipient list. There are also social media functions: Emails can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, or SMS. Evomail also color codes any custom-created sub-mail boxes in Gmail, which is pretty handy.

Are those differences enough to justify the $3 difference between Evomail and Gmail’s free app? Not to me. Except for the color-coded folders, I’m not likely to use the available gestures, nor the social media options—but your mileage may vary.

Bottom line

Evomail is competent, but there’s nothing here to make the app stand out from the crowd.