Zimbra Desktop is a web application disguised as a desktop one, or maybe it’s the other way around. I admit to being confused.
I have been playing with it since Yahoo announced the beta of the product on Thursday and it has some impressive features that could persuade some users they don’t need Microsoft’s Outlook anymore.
My trouble is that I decided that a long time ago, moving onto web email, contacts and calendar with Yahoo and then picking up on Google’s Calendar and Gmail.
Zimbra has also specialised as a browser-based mail/contacts/calendar service with a few bells and whistles that appeal to businesses. This encouraged Yahoo to buy it last year as a kind of “enterprise edition” of Yahoo Mail.
Zimbra is available for consumers and has moved onto the desktop using Mozilla’s Prism technology, which gives web-based services offline and desktop capabilities.
Zimbra seems like a desktop application in almost every respect – it has to be downloaded as a 40-megabyte file to begin with and then there is the usual client installation process.
It then allowed me to fill in the details for my Yahoo, Gmail and AOL webmail accounts, before it began downloading their message databases and putting them in separate folders with the familiar inbox list-view and preview pane.
I found this very useful for Gmail, as I have never quite got used to its non-standard interface and it is in much need of a makeover anyway, similar to the drag-and-drop capabilities that the Oddpost acquisition added to Yahoo Mail.
I was also able to import a Google Calendar, but there is no syncing yet with this service, nor Yahoo’s Calendar, so the lack of automatic updating means this is of limited use.
Zimbra has differentiated itself with its “Zimlet” mash-ups – mousing over a date brings up your calendar, or over a name brings up contact data. An address brings up a map window and driving directions, and a flight number can invoke a window telling you if it’s on time.
For all these useful features, I felt like I was taking a step back in installing Zimbra. It would work fine if I only used one computer, but using ones at home and at work and laptops and cellphones inbetween, it makes sense to be web-based where services can be accessed from any browser and always be up to date.
Web 2.0 companies may view enabling offline capabilities outside the browser as the final steps to giving them equality with Microsoft programs like Outlook. However, in most cases, as connectivity increases, they’re just not needed.
