One of the biggest obstacles for Gmail taking off as an alternative has been the lack of offline support. Google has been working on a solution for some time and have finally solved the problem.

Gmail Offline is finally here. And don’t tell me to just use Outlook.

You can activate the feature in GMAIL and use Gmail as a regular service even when you are offline.

You can compose, star, delete, etc.. when offline, all of these actions are stored on your local computer and once you are connected to the internet these actions are synchronized with the Gmail server. So, the mails you have composed or sent while offline will sit in your “outbox” until you connect to the internet. Here is how to activate it;

1. Click Settings and click the Labs tab.
2. Select Enable next to Offline Gmail.
3. Click Save Changes.
4. After your browser reloads, you’ll see a new "Offline0.1" link in the upper right-hand corner of your account, next to your username. Click this link to start the offline set up process and download Gears if you don’t already have it.

Tags | General, Google