Hasta La Gadget!

Sparrow, the popular email client for iPhone, was acquired by Google over the summer, and it was announced the acquisition would mean no more feature updates for the app. However, that doesn’t mean the Sparrow team would skip full iOS 6 and iPhone 5 support, so they ended up pushing out an update, but to everyone’s surprise, it was rejected by Apple.

Sparrow developer Dinh Viet Hoa announced on Twitter that the Sparrow app update for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 was rejected by Apple, and explained why later on in a reply. Apple’s rejection had something to do with the app’s Rich Text format. The developer was told that if they didn’t update the app with the corrections, it would be removed from the iTunes App Store.

Rich Text editing in email is a feature that Apple added in iOS 6, which means that the Sparrow team will have to release an update for the email client that will be for iOS 6 only in order to take advantage of Rich Text. iOS 5 users will still be able to use Sparrow, but they won’t be able to update to this latest version.

However, Rich Text support is actually built into Apple’s own Mail client in iOS 5, so we’re not sure why Apple has a problem with Sparrow’s Rich Text formatting in this latest update, which would’ve been compatible with iOS 5. Then again, the update is meant for iPhone 5 users who are already running iOS 6 anyway, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem for a majority of Sparrow users.

[via The Next Web]

Sparrow iPhone 5 update rejected by Apple is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The extremely popular and loved by many iOS and Mac email client Sparrow will be getting a much needed update soon. After being acquired by Google we later learned the popular app would get a feature freeze, and no further updates would be coming with what they called a ‘bug fix only’ status. Today however we learned of an upcoming update many Apple fans should be excited to hear about.

The popular app will be getting a much needed update that will allow for full iPhone 5 and iOS 6 support. Today the Sparrow founder Dominique Leca posted a quick tweet to his Twitter page that should ease the minds of all those who’ve recently upgraded to an iPhone 5 and was worried that larger screen wouldn’t get the proper support.

He was rather brief sadly and only mentions that “iPhone 5 support is coming soon to Sparrow” but didn’t give any further details or dates. A recent update for Sparrow on Mac brought that lovely Retina and OSX Mountain Lion support, so this was expected in a way — even after the acquisition by Google.

The Sparrow team was originally acquired to help achieve a bigger vision and improve Gmail but it looks like they’ll still be doing a little here and there for Sparrow on the iPhone. While we probably shouldn’t expect new features from them, little updates like supporting the latest and greatest smartphone from Apple should be included — and we’re glad to see that coming. Do you still use Sparrow for your go to email client?

[via TheNextWeb]

Sparrow iPhone 5 support coming soon is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sparrow’s email apps on OS X and iOS are wonderful, but we weren’t the only ones noticing that. Google noticed too, and that’s why they snatched up the small software developer. But what does it mean for the future of Sparrow’s apps, and also Gmail? More »

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.