Boxer: Superb gesture-based iPhone email client
(MoneyWatch) There's no shortage of email clients for your smartphone. In recent months we've been treated to newcomers like Mailboxand Mail Pilot, as well as the new tab-centric Gmail app. Every one of those has its Achilles Heel, though, so I'm always on the lookout for something better.
Last week, Boxer jumped onto the scene. This new email app is packed with features that are gesture-controlled. Swipe an email to the left to delete it or mark it as spam. Swipe to the right for a bevy of actions like marking it as done, adding it to your to-do list, or sending a quick reply. Choose quick reply, and you can pick from a list of short responses to send a one-tap reply.
- Mail Pilot tries to reinvent iPhone email
- Practical alternatives to email overload
- Incredimail reinvents email as a magazine page
This mail client is fast and efficient, and very smartly designed. In fact, it has almost every email feature I can imagine, except for an important one: You can't defer a mail till later, like you can with Mailbox and Mail Pilot. On the other hand, it can add the message to your to-do list, which gives you a similar ability.
Boxer is all about simplifying the way you deal with mail. Not only does it have a quick reply feature (and you can create your own custom one-line replies), but you can tap "Like" to send a quick note back to let the sender know received your message but a longer response wasn't needed. You can also connect with Dropbox to attach files, and Facebook and LinkedIn so you can get contact cards and profile information about the people you're talking to.
All that's great, but Boxer supports only Exchange server and web mail (like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.com) -- not POP or IMAP. Which means that, at least for me, it's yet another mail client that teases me but can't step up to actually replacing the default iOS mail app. If you want to try it, though, it's $5 -- but available for a limited time for free. Check right away to see if you can still get your copy for gratis.
