Google To Debut Inbox As New Gmail Alternative

Google today announced a new service called Inbox. The app, which was developed by Google's Gmail team, offers a new take on email by categorizing emails and highlighting the important details therein. Inbox offers three core features: bundles, highlights, and reminders/assists. Bundles cetagorize similar emails, such as bank statements or purchases, to make them easier to read and dismiss en masse.

Users are able to tweak which emails are grouped together, but Inbox will also do so automatically. Highlights show the important information found within emails, such as flight itineraries, event details, and photos/documents. Inbox is smart enough to pull in additional details from the web if they're not offered in the original email. Last, reminders/assists are tools for managing tasks and to-do lists. According to Google, Inbox can handle any type of reminder and can snag pertinent info from the web. For example, if you make a flight reservation, Inbox will automatically provide a link for online checkin. Reminders can be silenced with a snooze feature that relies on time and/or location to resume notifications. For now, Inbox is being offered as an invite-only beta. Google said those who receive invites can invite others to test it out. Google didn't say when the service might reach 1.0 status or become more widely available.