Google announced on Monday that it has updated Gmail for feature phone browsers with a new look. Here’s that look:
“People use all sorts of devices to access Gmail: their web browser, smartphone, tablet and, in many parts of the world, their feature phone,” says product manager Ari Bezman. “For those of you who use a feature phone to access Gmail on the go, starting today you’re getting a brand new look that’s faster and easier to use.”
“You’ll get a number of improvements that reduce the number of button presses required to read, reply and compose emails,” he says. “For example, you can reply directly to a message from the thread view, you can choose to move to the previous or next conversation, and much more.”
Google has been making a lot of changes to Gmail in general lately. I’m sure you’ll recall the launch of the new tabbed interface and the new compose box. Some of these changes have been frustrating to users.
I don’t anticipate we’ll be seeing much of a backlash about the new feature phone update. Frankly, it’s just nice to see Google isn’t totally ignoring this part of the market, which is still substantial.