Recently I entered into the private beta for Mailplane, a desktop gmail app. Now that they are announcing their final launch and public release of the software, I thought it timely to blog my thoughts about this little app. For starters, Mailplane brings a bunch of time saving features to Gmail that once you get the hang of using, really prove themselves to be pretty useful. It’s like any other of these types of apps really. You get used to doing something one way and find it hard to switch your habit, even though they save you time. I do have to say that this is one little handy app that will save you some valuable time if you use it right. Here’s what their main features are and what they say about them:

Taken from mailplaneapp.com

Attach files
Drag ‘n’ drop your files and folders to Mailplane and watch them being attached to the message and automatically uploaded.

Send optimized Photos
Pictures get automatically resized and optimized to reduce the size of your message.

Instantly send Screenshots
Need to send a Screenshot? With one click you grab a portion of your screen and attach it to your message.

Send Pictures from iPhoto
Mailplane comes with an iPhoto plugin that makes sending picture attachments so easy: select any pictures in iPhoto and then press the email button. That’s it.

Store Passwords in Keychain

Add as many Gmail accounts (or Google apps for your domain accounts) as you want and switch between them without restarting Mailplane. And there is no need to enter passwords every two weeks, either. Mailplane stores them safely in the Mac keychain.

Download
Download attachments and then reveal them in Finder. If the attachment is a photo or even a ZIP file containing pictures, then you can directly import them to iPhoto.

Get Notified
Mailplane lets you know when new mail arrives. By playing a sound, by showing the number of unread messages in the application icon and by the Growl notification system. Plus: Monitor all your accounts with the accounts drawer or the status item.

Talk with your Buddies
If somebody wants to talk, Mailplane shows a Growl notification. The brand-new Google Talk Gadget (displayed inside a separate window) offers some nice features like video and photo preview.

At the very least, I recommend Mailplane for a demo download and tryout. I’m liking it more and more every day. Swing by the site and try it out for yourself. Then come on back and post your impression. I’d love to hear what you think.