Inbox for Gmail: Definitely Worth a Look

I've been a fan of Gmail for a while. Recently, Google launched their new email client, Inbox, in an invite only system for now. This invitation system is nothing new for Google to do. Yeah, it is probably unnecessary and it probably is, at least in part, a marketing gimmick. Yes, I'm probably being a Google apologist for not feeling some outrage at this system, yet, I just don't. What I will say, though, is that the Inbox app is slick.

I've only had a couple days to play with it, and I've spent most of those days moving boxes as we moved into our new home. However, there are a lot of changes in Inbox that I like.

First, the design. I'm normally more of a function over form person. However, I think that the look of Inbox is just wonderful. It showcases the material design of Android 5.0 wonderfully. It is also just easy to navigate and use.

In the current Gmail app, the only preset bundles are Social, Updates, Forum, and Promotions. Inbox adds additional useful bundles like travel, purchases, etc. This helps keep your email sorted. Yes, power users probably already have rules and filters set up to do this automatically. However, I think the way Inbox does it is great.

Additionally, Inbox makes it easy to see all of your reminders. I'm constantly using Google Now to set reminders. Prior to Inbox, it was somewhat cumbersome to see your reminders. Inbox has an option for that right in the navigation drawer for easy access.

Additionally, the ability to snooze email or pin it to the top so that you don't lose it in the inbox is helpful.

All in all, my preliminary thoughts on Inbox are that it I'm going to stop using the Gmail app and site altogether in favor of Inbox.

So, if you haven't done so yet, request an invite or get an invitation from someone who already has Inbox.

LET CAMCARD ORGANIZE YOUR BUSINESS CARDS

It seems that I am constantly trading business cards with other attorneys, social welfare agencies, and just random people. I think it is something that goes with practicing law. However, keeping all of them organized and usable has been a challenge to say the least. So, I've been trying out different Android apps to see if any of them could help.

Today, I want to talk about CamCard. CamCard, which offers a free and paid version, allows you to take pictures of your business cards, both front and back, and it stores the image for you. It then reads the information from the image and creates a contact based upon what it read on the card.

This reading of the information is not perfect, though the simpler the card is, the more accurate the result. In fact, I've had a number of cards where I didn't have to make any corrections at all.

One of the things I truly love about CamCard is its ability to sync across platforms. I can save the resulting contact information in my phone's contacts, as well as having it sync with my Microsoft Exchange account. Additionally, since the information is backed up to CamCard's website, I can access the information from any computer connected to the internet.

I'd highly suggest you give CamCard a try if you are looking for a good way of organizing your business cards.