Native Gmail app is back on App Store

This time around, they got the notifications right.

After a week-long hiatus, Google’s native Gmail for iOS app is back into the App Store. Get downloading. Google surely did suffer an unwanted PR blow when they launched the app November 2. Following a huge backlash stemming from bugs, the search company took it on the chin and removed the program an hour later citing “a bug with notifications”.

Well, notifications seem to be working fine in version 1.0.2. I just downloaded and installed the app and it put up a standard iOS notification approval request. Those who kept the original release on their device will need to uninstall or log out of the old app prior to installing the new one. One more thing: They improved handling of HTML images in messages: They are sized to fit the screen and you can pinch-zoom them.

Many users wondered why all the fuss as the “native” experience is basically a web app re-packaged as an executable iOS app file. Google on its part says it will add many more features down the road. A post over at the official Gmail blog says:

In the short time the app was public we received a lot of helpful feedback and feature requests. This included requests for everything from bigger features like multiple account support to customizations like improved notifications and mobile specific signatures. We’re just getting started with the Gmail app for iOS and will be iterating rapidly to bring you more features, including all the ones listed above plus many more.