Google acquires Sparrow (Email client for OS X and iOS)


Recommended Posts

don't see why people are moping, the features or program will probably be made free...

Does Google have a history of buying a company and keeping the product just as simple and awesome as it was and making it free?

Based on what I recall, they have a history of dismantling and incorporating acquired products into their already existing line up, which usually ruins what originally made the product awesome.

Other companies have done the same thing: Twitter with both Tweetie and TweetDeck; Yahoo! with Flickr; Apple with Siri; etc.

Here's an article Ars talking about Google's trail of dead apps left behind after acquisitions: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/you-shall-know-google-by-its-trail-of-dead-a-sparrow-users-lament

There's plenty of precedence to be concerned that nothing good will come of this.

The team themselves said that Sparrow is dead. Why specifically state such a thing if there was any chance that it would just be rebranded as a Gmail iOS app?

They're sour because they actually paid for Sparrow.

That's a risk though that people take buying anything. That's like getting upset because I bought something yesterday that goes on sale today. I can't remember who, but I remember reading a great quote one time where someone said something like: don't buy a product because of what it could be tomorrow, but because of what it is today.

Here's my real problem with this entire thing: as a small team, the group built an app that they loved and were clearly proud of. It was a product that also had the community involved. They even asked what logo they should use. Often they teased new features on Twitter or Tumblr. They kept users/fans in the loop.

Now they're part of the big machine. Google is not the Do No Evil company they once proclaimed to be. They're no different than Apple and Microsoft now. Remember the outrage when Google released the official Gmail app for iOS? They eventually pulled the app and it was gone for months, and when they brought it back? It looked exactly the same. They fixed a few bugs and added Push Notifications to it, but it was still just a wrapper around their mobile site. Things in a big company don't change that much, especially in any big way. It is one reason why Microsoft should be applauded for the major changes they're doing with all of their upcoming products (even if you don't like those changes).

I remember reading an interview with the CEO of Sparrow where he stated he left a big company just for these reasons. Now, he's right back at one.

For me, at least, it isn't about paying for the product and no longer getting future updates (outside of critical updates); for me, it is solely about lost innovation. Big companies innovate on small levels, not major ones. Look at iOS as a prime example. The UI hasn't changed in any major way since it was first released 5 years. Why? Because if they did, they'd outrage millions of users. Look at every little change Facebook does and the outrage that proceeds it.

Instead of developing for a few hundred thousand users, now the team is developing for several hundred million users. That changes how you develop in a big way.

But, I hope I am wrong on all this. I hope that Google releases Sparrow rebranded as Gmail.app and that they leave the colours the same. I hate how grey and black Google makes their iOS apps. It is horrible and bland. Sparrow is a beautiful app and should be left alone in terms of UI.

I read Acrylic Software has been bought by Facebook and their apps are unlikely to receive further updates as well. I was having problems with one of their apps, Pulp, and the developer(s) refused to answer my emails asking for support. As such I just filled in a refund request at Apple. Within 30 minutes I received an email from the Mac App Store support team honoring my request. I can see a store credit of ?7,99 in 3 to 5 business days.

Talk about service! (Y)

Considering the gmail app for iOS is horrible as well.

But why would you even need a gmail app on iOS, heck I don't even see the point of a gmail app for Android. gmail is Mail, use the mail app and have all your mail in one place. having one app for one type of mail is just stupid.

Sparrow for Windows was 'just a few weeks away,' says developer: http://t.co/S1bqXVak

Possibly more bad news, provided Google doesn't release this.

It definitely shows that porting over interfaces from one OS to another 1:1 works poorly.

Just got a popup from Sparrow on OSX asking if I wanted to buy it.

Imagine all those new mac owners this summer that might actually still buy this app only to realize that there might not be any new features coming to it. It's a great app and I hope the Google team takes over to make it their default iOS/Mac gmail app as opposed to simply porting whatever like out of it and then trash the rest.

Just got a popup from Sparrow on OSX asking if I wanted to buy it.

Imagine all those new mac owners this summer that might actually still buy this app only to realize that there might not be any new features coming to it. It's a great app and I hope the Google team takes over to make it their default iOS/Mac gmail app as opposed to simply porting whatever like out of it and then trash the rest.

So an app is only good enough to buy if there's new features coming to it now o_O

pretty sure people buy apps because of how good they are NOW

  • Like 1

Sparrow for Windows was 'just a few weeks away,' says developer: http://t.co/S1bqXVak

Possibly more bad news, provided Google doesn't release this.

'Sparrow for Windows' was never an official Sparrow client, not even close to 'weeks away'

So an app is only good enough to buy if there's new features coming to it now o_O

pretty sure people buy apps because of how good they are NOW

I'm not sure what your formula for buying apps is, but for me, apps are an investment. When I buy an app, I look for whether the app is what is good at what it does now as well as whether the dev releases updates, maintain compatibility, and push new features on a regular basis so that their app will continue to be among the best in the future. Sparrow for OSX costs $9.99, rather expensive imo, so I'm not going to pay for the full version without the assurance the Google is keeping the app and continue to develop for it. My thoughts would be slightly different if they were not bought by Google. But hey, I'm not denying the devs anything by using the free version because they are getting paid either way for putting ads they put above the inbox.

Google can?t design an application. They?re going to destroy Sparrow.

I don't agree with you on that. Well I don't agree with you on the designing an app part. I think most of Googles apps look very good and are extremely functional, and are fantastic for the price of each.. "FREE" I do agree though, that Sparrow will be no more, and we will never hear the name again.

I don't agree with you on that. Well I don't agree with you on the designing an app part. I think most of Googles apps look very good and are extremely functional, and are fantastic for the price of each.. "FREE" I do agree though, that Sparrow will be no more, and we will never hear the name again.

Have you ever tried their iOS apps? Their web apps might be great, especially if they're not in a wrapper app, but going straight through Safari. But their iOS apps suck. Up until the most recent version of Google+ app, it was pretty bad.

Google's recent UI changes, to these darker colors are pretty bad too.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • I think there will be a 27H1 for actual users of 26H1 The 25h2 supports ARM too : Snapdragon X, Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite
    • Poll: Grand Theft Auto VI price predictions, cast your vote by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe After years of waiting, Rockstar will be solidifying the launch date of Grand Theft Auto VI with the launch of pre-orders next week. While the studio has confirmed a date for this occasion, it is yet to attach a price to the highly anticipated game. So let's see what our readers think it will cost at launch. The Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders will kick off on June 25 for digital and physical editions. Unless some last-minute changes happen, the release date will be November 19, 2026, across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, there's still no information about a PC version from the developer or the publisher Take-Two. Now the question becomes, how much will Grand Theft Auto VI cost at launch? The game is predicted by some analysts to be the biggest launch of an entertainment product ever. With the amount of hype that has been built behind it and with ballooning development costs, Take-Two may price this Grand Theft Auto entry differently from other AAA titles. The current price of a AAA game is $69.99. That norm almost rose to $79.99 before calming down. But with such a massive release, Grand Theft Auto VI may be the game that pushes the boundary again. It's also possible that Take-Two keeps the price relatively low to increase the number of players that jump in early and keep them hooked on Grand Theft Auto Online to spend on microtransactions for years to come. Keep in mind that the below poll is asking for a prediction of the standard edition price, not a deluxe or any other special edition that Take-Two will introduce for additional benefits. Also, there is also the chance of the company splitting up the campaign and online portions. If you think that will happen, put your vote on what you think will be the total cost of the two. Poll Poll: How much will Grand Theft Auto VI cost? $59.99 $69.99 $79.99 $89.99 $100 or more Submit Vote If you have a very specific prediction in mind, sound off in the comments below.
    • Would you please fix your graphics. They are outdated and don't fit the article.
    • The Light of Life? We actually do glow till our Death, study finds by Sayan Sen Image by Rafael Rendon via Pexels A study by researchers at the University of Calgary has found that living organisms produce an extremely faint light known as ultraweak photon emission, and that this glow appears to drop significantly after death. The research was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry in April 2025 and quickly drew widespread attention, leading to more than 200 news stories about the findings. Ultraweak photon emission (or UPE), sometimes called biophoton emission, refers to tiny amounts of light released by living cells as a result of normal biological activity. A photon is the basic particle of light, and researchers say every living system examined so far, including plants and animals, has been found to emit these photons. The glow is far too faint to be seen by the human eye. “I suppose it has a little to do with people being reminded of auras,” says Dr. Christoph Simon, PhD, one of the authors of the study and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Faculty of Science. “It is a fact that living beings glow. It’s a very weak glow, but it’s there and visible with very sensitive cameras.” According to the study, the light involved is extremely weak, ranging from 10 to 1,000 photons per square centimetre per second across a spectral range of 200 to 1,000 nanometres. For comparison, a nanometre is one-billionth of a metre and is commonly used to measure wavelengths of light. Detecting emissions at such low levels requires highly specialized equipment. To study the phenomenon, researchers used electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) and charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. These imaging systems are designed to detect extremely small amounts of light, including individual photons, while minimizing background noise. The technology allowed researchers to capture signals that would otherwise be impossible to observe. The team worked with the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in Ottawa to examine photon emissions in mice. Researchers took two-hour exposure images of the animals before and after death and compared the results. “We saw that the level of light that they emit – this biophoton glow – is distinctly different between living and dead animals,” says Dr. Daniel Oblak, PhD, an associate professor in Physics and Astronomy and the corresponding author of the study. The images showed a clear decrease in photon emissions after death across the entire body of each mouse. According to the researchers, this provided direct evidence that living and dead tissue produce different levels of ultraweak photon emission. “It’s a very small amount and it’s, of course, very tricky to detect,” Oblak says. The study grew out of discussions between Simon, whose research interests include quantum biology, and Oblak, whose work focuses on detecting light for quantum communication experiments. Quantum biology is a field that explores whether processes described by quantum physics, which studies matter and energy at very small scales, may also play a role in living systems. “Since I work as a quantum physicist on light detection for quantum communication, I thought that experimentally we have a lot of the tools to be able to detect the light,” Oblak explains. The researchers also investigated UPE in plants and found that the light changed in response to stress. When plants were exposed to higher temperatures or physically injured, their photon emissions increased. Chemical treatments also affected the glow. Among the substances tested, the local anesthetic benzocaine produced the strongest emission response when applied to injured plant tissue. These findings suggest that ultraweak photon emission is closely linked to biochemical and metabolic activity inside living organisms. Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions that allow cells and organisms to stay alive and function. Because these reactions change when an organism experiences stress, injury or disease, researchers believe UPE may provide a way to monitor those changes. The researchers stress that the glow is a physical and biological phenomenon, not a metaphysical one. Oblak says more research is needed to understand exactly how the light is produced and what information it may reveal about the condition of living tissue. “We must understand what that is to figure out what’s happening,” he says. “If we can understand how that relates to certain influences on the body – stress, diseases – then that could be used as a diagnostic tool.” The researchers believe the technique could eventually help scientists study health and disease without invasive procedures. Because UPE can be measured without adding dyes, markers or labels, it may offer a way to monitor whether tissue is healthy, damaged or alive. In plants, it could help researchers better understand how organisms respond to injury, heat and other forms of stress. While the work is still in its early stages, the study demonstrates that ultraweak photon emission imaging can provide a non-invasive and label-free way to observe biological activity. Researchers say the approach could become a useful tool for studying vitality, stress responses and other important processes in both animals and plants. Source: University of Calgary, ACS publication This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      hhgygy earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      AMV earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Collaborator
      ryansurfer98 went up a rank
      Collaborator
    • One Month Later
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      171
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      82
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      72
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!