Sparrow mail app review for iPhone

Email management varies greatly among users. Some meticulously organize messages into folders with zero unread counts, while others accumulate thousands of unread emails in a single stream. Most fall somewhere between these extremes.

The review authors acknowledge their preference for organization, which shapes their perspective on the Sparrow iPhone app. They initially tried Sparrow's desktop client, which resembled Twitter's Mac app in its minimalist design. However, they found it too simplistic for managing multiple projects and organizing emails efficiently, preferring established clients like Apple Mail or Outlook instead.

The mobile version offers distinct advantages. Rather than navigating through hierarchical menus like the native iOS Mail app, Sparrow leverages gesture-based interactions. Users can swipe to access accounts, folders, and Gmail-specific features such as priority inboxes. Folders display with color coding, and users can toggle between individual accounts or unified inbox views.

The setup process is straightforward—requiring only name, email address, and password. The app is particularly tailored for Gmail and Google Apps users, incorporating favoriting and priority inbox features. A clever swipe gesture on the inbox header filters messages by category: whole inbox, unread, starred, or priority mail.

The swipe-to-action feature borrowed from Twitter's iOS app enables quick access to replying, forwarding, tagging, archiving, and deleting. Conversation threads are well-designed, defaulting to the latest message with pull-down navigation through previous messages. The pull-to-refresh functionality, common in modern apps, works reliably.

Advanced settings exist for users seeking additional options. At the time of review, the primary limitation was the absence of push notifications. The reviewers anticipated this feature would arrive soon, potentially making Sparrow their default email client once implemented.