Is Mailbird really the “Outlook killer”?
Mailbird
People looking for a standalone e-mail application, will think of Outlook or Thunderbird. Yet there are excellent alternatives, such as Mailbird ( https://www.getmailbird.com ). It comes in a free version (with a limited number of functions) and a Pro version. You can try out the latter version free of charge for 30 days, then it’s a one-off €40 or an annual €10. Mailbird runs in Windows 7, 8 and 10, but not (yet) on Mac or on mobile platforms.
A neat and fast interface
The modern interface is the first feature that catches the eye. Folders and messages are displayed very clearly, while the icons, layout and typography create a highly stylish look. Plus, you can customise a lot of elements. There are different layouts to choose from: a layout with vertical or horizontal panels, or the two combined. You can have different e-mail accounts represented by appropriate icons. You can even select a zoom level for opened messages - to make them bigger and hence easier to read. Equally important, this interface appeared to work very fast without any hitches in our tests.
Processing e-mail
Mailbird can handle both POP3 and IMAP e-mail accounts. When you configure multiple accounts, the messages are brought together in one inbox, although you can still choose to view the messages for each account separately. For Gmail accounts, you can work with labels instead of folders in Mailbird. You will be able to perform certain actions faster by using the keyboard shortcuts, while on touchscreens you can perform certain actions by swiping over a message in the list. Interestingly, you can drag an entire conversation to a folder. Using the snooze function, you can have messages reappear at the time you set. Plus, you can postpone sending messages for a couple of seconds so that you can intervene if you’ve pushed the Send button too quickly. The latest version of Mailbird comes with a fully-fledged address book which lets you define groups, add Skype details or have contacts looked up automatically in LinkedIn.
Apps
You can extend the e-mail functionalities of MailBird via apps. The most popular ones are Google Calendar and Sunrise, which add a calendar to the application. Moo.do lets you add a task planner to which you only need to drag the e-mails concerned. In addition, there are apps for Facebook and Whatsapp which make it possible to use these tools directly in Mailbird. Note. These apps aren’t linked to the other Mailbird functions: they’re only available in a separate panel.
What’s missing?
In order to be really able to “kill” Outlook, Mailbird is missing a few important functions. Mailbird can’t handle Exchange accounts. Plus, when it comes to calendar management, Outlook still outclasses Mailbird. True, you can add a calendar in Mailbird via an app (see above), but it’s not really integrated into the Mailbird interface itself. A third shortcoming is the absence of filters.Mailbird has no spam filter of its own and nothing for grey e-mail, plus you can’t create any custom filters yourself.
Create your profile to unlock this advice and many more.