Postbox Beta Now Open

Postbox is a new email client.  It has been in a closed beta for a while, but is now in open beta.  I have been using it in the closed beta for the base couple of weeks and have been liking it.

Postbox's claim is that you can:

• Find things fast because everything is indexed for fast searching
• Get your email connected to the on-line services you use such as searches
• Create Rich Messages connecting to on-line and stored information and having it available in a sidebar
• Stay focused by organizing messages into categories
• Get things done with to-dos that are built in

The last two features strikes me as what sets Postbox apart from other email clients.  It should particularly interest the GTD crowd and I would think would be quite helpful since these days it seems like so many to-dos are generated off of emails.  I can imagine Postbox becoming the trusted repository, especially if someone has a email support on their phone.  A quick email to self would capture what must be done.

As to the other features, the searching is very fast - but to my unscientific test not significantly faster than Thunderbird's or Google Desktop's searches, though light-years faster than Outlook's search feature.  But I do not even use Outlook's search opting instead for Google Desktop.

Its ability to create rich messages and connect to other sources is better than Thunderbird though most of what they talk about I can, at least fairly easily, do in Outlook.  Linking with other data has always been a weak point with Thunderbird - even linking with the address book - which the current version of Thunderbird will not even do on a Mac.  (Some betas of Thunderbird, notably the Shreader beta, do link to the Mac's address book).

The unmentioned part of this is the look and feel.  Postbox has a very Mac-like look and feel, even on a PC.  I like that and I do not think it is so out there that it will seem too uncomfortable to PC users.  Thunderbird is now feeling clunky and Outlook is feeling big, bloated, and slow.  Here is a screenshot:

Final analysis - Postbox is a good email client.  It combines the speed and nimbleness of Thunderbird with some of the better power features of Outlook.  If your office is connected on Exchange via Outlook, Postbox does not have the horsepower or connectivity with Exchange to be a replacement.  If you are just looking for a good fast email client, however, it is a great option.

You can find more information about the Postbox public beta here:  Postbox.

- Peter H. Berge

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