Google had already revamped Gmail mobile interface for the Apple iOS platform with HTML5 richness last year. Gmail works like web app on the mobile Safari and now it has been tweaked to run almost like a native app on iPhone or iPod touch. Fast scrolling in Gmail’s mobile web interface has been enabled to match your finger swiping speed on the touchscreen. Yes, the scrolling in Gmail on the iPhone’s Mobile Safari has become faster than your eyes can roll. It’s the JavaScript in the Gmail mobile web interface that has been tweaked to make the experience feel as if it were a native app for the platform.
Remember the “Floating Toolbar” introduced specifically for Apple iOS platform in Gmail? Well, now that Floating Toolbar will remain fixed at the top. So in a way Gmail has now become a proper web app that will mimic behavior of native app. Also this new Gmail will draw thin line between native and web app. Only thing you’ll miss is the background notifications just in case you have to close the browser or use other app via multi-tasking. However, this faster Gmail interface is only available to iOS 4.0 or higher update running devices and that too in English language only for the time being.
Now this makes us think was there any need for Facebook and Twitter App on iOS platform? Neither of them actually allow browsing content offline so such online service apps are as good as Web Apps. All such social networks could’ve made the best of current day web technologies to develop web apps for mobile interface. Anyways, only if there was a way to view the mails or other web service data offline, it would be more fun. But the way Gmail has got snappier, slowly that urge to read mails in offline mode will start diminishing.