Two days ago I took a look at CloudMagic's Android email client,
and I have to admit, it's a well-designed piece of software. Its
blazing fast searching is its claim to fame, but even without this
functionality, it's an attractive, holo-friendly app with support for
multiple accounts and a unified inbox. But - and for many, this is a big
but - the app indexes your mail on CloudMagic's servers. Deal
breaker? In that case, here's another email client that might just fit
your needs, assuming you have an Exchange account, another service
pushed by Microsoft, or a Google Apps account. Nine isn't quite as
versatile, but its attractive interface alone makes it worth a look.
What's Nine All About?
Nine is skewed towards professional use, but there's no reason you
can't rely on it for personal messages. Actually, there's one big one.
Nine supports various email services, but Gmail doesn't make the list
(unless you're using a Google Apps account). There's also no support for
Yahoo either.
Supported servers:
- Exchange Server 2003 SP2/SP3 and above
- Office 365
- Hotmail
- Outlook.com
- Gmail (Google Apps account only)
- Other servers supported Exchange ActiveSync
This will prohibit a large number of us from relying on the app right
out of the gate, but that doesn't mean there isn't something worth
seeing here. Unfortunately, I won't have too much to show you. Since
Nine doesn't support any of the accounts that I actually use, I created
one at Outlook.com just for the sake of testing things out. So here it
is, the one email in my inbox, along with its presence in my
notification drawer.
Nothing here is going to blow your mind, but that's part
of the point. Nine isn't flashy, it isn't trying to revolutionize
email, and it isn't trying to do more than deliver your messages. If you
don't want gimmicks, this is a serious option that presents the
necessities without sacrificing style in the process.
Many of Nine's settings are context aware. That means if you want to
edit the way the app handles searching or tweak the options available
when composing a new message, you hit the settings button while you're
on the relevant screen. It's far from a revolutionary concept, but it
works really well here. Dividing preferences up prevents them from
getting too overwhelming.
This is good, because Nine has even more options tucked away
elsewhere, and they're pretty in-depth. You can handle what should
happen after deleting a message, toggle sender image, enable
swipe-to-delete, tweak sync schedule, limit email download size, choose
message formats, set custom ringtones, determine sync ranges, and much
more. The app supports rich-text editing, syncing calendar and contacts
with stock apps, and some unexciting features that are, again, geared
towards professional users.
Should You Download It?
As clean and usable as Nine is, it just isn't the app for your
average user. Setting aside the privacy concerns inherent in letting a
third-party index your mail, CloudMagic is just more compelling out of
the box, even if it comes with far fewer options. The supported services
are too limiting, with the lack of general Gmail accounts eliminating
this option for most people I know personally.
But that's not the point. Nine is an app for Exchange users, and if
you've been struggling to find something that doesn't freak out when
trying to access your Exchange account, this app is tailored made to
fill that role. Except, there's one more thing - Nine isn't free. You
can use it without paying for two weeks, but after that, it costs $9.99
to keep installed.
Thanks, Ben!
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