The iPad’s Mail app is great for personal use, but if you’re looking to share your iPad’s e-mail capabilities with other users, the multi-user Gmail client Lilliput Labs’s Mailboxes app makes for a secure alternative. Mailboxes lets users quickly access their Gmail and Google Apps accounts on a shared iPad while keeping the account information private. The app’s 1.2 update brings a pair of new features: offline support and fast account switching.
Mailboxes, which was released in June, manages multiple account credentials for you, storing them securely in the iPad’s built in Keychain. Upon first running the app, simply enter your credentials, set an optional 4-digit passcode, and Mailboxes will load up your e-mail in the familiar iPad-optimised Gmail Web interface.
While previously you needed to be online to use Mailboxes, the app now caches your e-mail for offline reading, letting you read your messages wherever you may roam. In addition, fast account switching significantly reduces the time it takes to switch between different Gmail accounts, making Mailboxes even more convenient.
Mailboxes for iPad costs $3 and requires iOS 3.2 or later.