Hasta La Gadget!

Popular iOS and Mac email app Sparrow has been acquired by Google, with the team responsible for the iPhone and OS X app headed to take up roles in Google’s Gmail division. “We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience” Sparrow announced today. “Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision.”

Exactly what that new vision will look like is unclear, but it seems likely that better Gmail apps for iOS and Android are in the pipeline. There’s also the possibility of a standalone Gmail app for OS X and Windows, or at least more functionality on Chromebooks, depending on the angle Google decides to take with its web email service.

“While we’ll be working on new things at Google, we will continue to make Sparrow available and provide support for our users” Sparrow says. The company has seen huge success, with iPhone owners in particular keen to replace Apple’s native email app on the smartphone, though troubles getting access to iOS’ push service have meant a compromise in the user-experience.

Financial details on the acquisition have not been confirmed, and Google is yet to comment on its plans for Sparrow.

Sparrow statement:

We’re excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!

We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience.

Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to all of our users who have supported us, advised us, given us priceless feedback and allowed us to build a better mail application. While we’ll be working on new things at Google, we will continue to make Sparrow available and provide support for our users.

We had an amazing ride and can’t thank you enough.

Full speed ahead!

Update: According to an email from Sparrow to users, shared by 9to5Mac, while the existing apps will still be offered, there will be no new features added:

Hello,
We’re excited to let you know that Sparrow has been acquired by Google! You can view our public announcement here, but I wanted to reach out directly to make sure you were aware of the news.We will continue to make available our existing products, and we will provide support and critical updates to our users. However, as we’ll be busy with new projects at Google, we do not plan to release new features for the Sparrow apps.
It’s been an honor and a pleasure to build products for all of our wonderful users who have supported us over the years. We can’t thank you enough.
We look forward to working on some new and exciting projects at Google!

Google captures Sparrow iOS/Mac email app [Update: Feature freeze] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Smartphones and email-equipped feature phones have proliferated in even the most resource-dry areas of Asia, Europe and North America, but for many subscribers in Africa, SMS is the only option for text-based communication on the go. And, to give residents a more consistent method for reading and responding to email from their mobiles, Google just launched Gmail SMS in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. To sign up, simply head over to the “Phone and SMS” settings page in Gmail, add your mobile number and complete a verification process. Once enrolled, the service will automatically forward all email to devices as text messages. The service could even be useful for those that do have access to Android, iOS or Windows Phone devices — data outages can cripple smartphones, forcing users to turn to phone calls and SMS to connect with family, friends and colleagues. Geva Rechav, a Google product manager for emerging markets, confirmed in a blog post that Gmail SMS messages will be free to receive, but standard fees will apply for outgoing emails. You’ll find full signup details at the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Google launches Gmail SMS for text-based email in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a harrowing few days for Yahoo. Earlier this week, the Yahoo Contributor Network became the victim of an SQL injection attack, with the hackers taking 450,000 email addresses and passwords with them when they left. Today, Yahoo says that it has put additional security measures in place in the aftermath of the attack, and gave us a better idea of who is at risk now that this information is out in the open.

According to Yahoo, the passwords and emails that were stolen belonged to members who signed up for Associated Content prior to May 2010, which is when Yahoo purchased Associated Content and turned it into the Yahoo Contributor Network. If you are one of those longtime users and signed up for Associated Content with a Yahoo email address, Yahoo asks that you log into that account, where you’ll be greeted by a number of account authentication questions. Obviously, if you use the same email address and password across multiple online accounts, it’s probably a good idea to go and change those too.

In a statement made today, Yahoo says that it has identified and fixed the vulnerability that allowed the hackers access in the first place. The company has also “deployed additional security measures for affected Yahoo users, enhanced our underlying security controls” and is currently in the process of notifying users who were affected by the attack.

The hackers said that they wanted this to serve as a wake-up call for those involved. With Yahoo scrambling to beef up security and keep the negative buzz to a minimum, it looks like their plan worked.

[via CNET]

Yahoo strengthens security in aftermath of password breach is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s usually no escaping a difficult conversation. But at least nowadays we can choose in which medium to have the chat. There’s certainly a premium placed on in-person conversations—really, you just want to be there with the person, see his (or her) facial expressions, reactions, etc. It’s also nice to have the guarantee of an instant reply. More »

The NY Times’ Nick Bilton believes email is dysfunctional beyond repair. He says no amount of filtering can block out unwanted noise, replying to everyone you should reply to can be exhausting, and other communication technologies (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are easier and more intuitive to use. Thus, the only solution might be to use email less, and those other services more. Is it time to give up on email? [NY Times] More »