On November 2nd, Google's long anticipated official Gmail iPhone app was available for a brief period of time on the App Store. The app was soon pulled and now its back. You can download official Gmail iPhone app now!
The first change you'll notice, is the sexy new icon of official iPhone Gmail app. That aside, version 1.0.2 of Gmail app fixes all the bugs that plagued the initial version. This update does not add any new features to the official Gmail app for iPhone. It didn't need to, the previous version wasn't working for many so nobody actually really got down to trying out all the features this app has to offer.
Many users debated the existence of a native Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch. Its already possible to sync a Gmail account to your iOS device through the native Mail app, so was there ever a need for an official Gmail app? Everyone had their own opinion, and those who were in favour of this app were particularly excited about the fact that the native Gmail app would send push notifications whenever new email was received. This much hyped about feature turned out to be the one that failed miserably when the app was available for public.
Product Manager Matthew Izatt admits in a post on the Google Blog that there was indeed a bug with notifications that cause the app to crash. Nobody loves an app that crashes, so Google pulled it from the App Store and published an apology through Twitter saying "sorry we messed up". Google apps for iOS have a history of failing miserably, but this time Google was destined to turn the tables. Indeed, the official Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch is exquisitely developed and have an amazing UI. Given the fact that all bugs have been taken care of and the app no longer crashes, yes we've tested it out, you should definitely download Gmail app for iPhone as this time it won't disappoint you.
The app is free to download and all you need is an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 4 firmware or later. If you already have the previous release of Gmail iPhone app, you will need to delete it first before you update to version 1.0.2.
Download Official Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch [App Store Link]