ChillStar Posted October 23, 2014 Report Posted October 23, 2014 JAVED ANWER | FOLLOW @JAVED_DEL | NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 22, 2014 | UPDATED 23:58 IST Google on Wednesday announced Inbox, a new email service that attempts to give Gmail (and email) a big makeover in a bid to make it more relevant for users. The idea, as Google's senior vice president Sundar Pichai explained in a blog post, is to cut through the information overload that email users have to deal with and give people the right and relevant information in an easy way. In a way, Inbox is a combination of the existing Gmail and Google Now, a smart virtual assistant that is available on Android and Smartphone. Using technology similar to the one that powers Google Now, the web giant is hoping to sort emails in a way that will make them more accessible to users. "Years in the making, Inbox is by the same people who brought you Gmail, but it's not Gmail: it's a completely different type of inbox, designed to focus on what really matters," Pichai wrote in an official blog. "We get more email now than ever, important information is buried inside messages, and our most important tasks can slip through the cracks -- especially when we're working on our phones. For many of us, dealing with email has become a daily chore that distracts from what we really need to do… If this all sounds familiar, then Inbox is for you. Or more accurately, Inbox works for you." Google has said that there are three specific ways in which Inbox attempts to organise emails: 1- Bundles: This is somewhat similar to how different tabs are organised in the Gmail currently. This means when emails arrive in Inbox, they will be automatically sorted in various categories. For example, the promotion bundle will have all your emails that are coming from e-retail websites. User will be able to create their own bundles, for example family bundle or work bundle. 2- Highlights: This is where Inbox starts to get interesting. Using the Google Now like technology, the Inbox will show you the relevant information. For example, when you get an email from your bank about your credit card, the Inbox will probably highlight the due amount and will show that information upfront because that is most important information. 3- Snooze and reminders: The Inbox will automatically set reminders. For example, if you have a meeting scheduled and if the information in the email, Inbox will send you reminder ahead of the meetings. Google said users would be able to set their own reminders. At the same time, they will also be able to set Snooze so that they can deal with an email or a bunch of emails at an appropriate time. In many ways, a lot of functionality offered by Inbox is already available through Google Now and Gmail integration. Some of the features like Snooze are offered by third-party apps. But by bringing it all together, Google is hoping to make cleaner email inboxes more accessible. Currently, Inbox is an invite-only service . It is available for web, iOS and Android but you will require an invite to use it.
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