Notify 2 Reviewed: Awesome Notifications For Your Emails

benhomie — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:07:03 +0000

I came across Notify some time ago when it first launched, it was only able to fetch Gmail messages which is pretty wasted for such a good looking menubar app. I knew it had lots of potential to morph into something more all rounded so I waited. And the wait is over!

Notify 2, by Vibealicious, now notifies you of new email messages not only for Gmail, but Google Apps emails, MobileMe, RackSpace or any other IMAP enabled email accounts making it a complete notifier app.

Also, Notify doesn’t need your email client to be open in order to work. With its ability to compose and reply messages right in the app itself, you can keep your mail client closed unless you need to attach and send images or check read messages.

Easy Setup

Under account preferences, add an email account of any type supported by Notify, key in your credentials and you’re ready to go.

I have tested all except Rackspace as I’m not hosting with them. But it should work.

To make your email notifications more obvious, choose a sound of your liking.

I personally like the simple Harmonic sound, medium pitched and not muffled. Definitely audible even if you have iTunes playing.

Under Appearance, you can set the way your date is formatted. I think it’s a nice touch considering everyone reads time and date differently.

Interface & Functionality

This is the interface of the app itself. Simple and beautiful.

If you have multiple accounts, each account will appear as a different tab for easy account switching.

The interface will only show you all unread messages. There are many things you can do with these unread messages like quick look (select a message and press spacebar), mark as read, delete and reply.

Very handy if you want to keep Mail away from view.

One great way I find Notify can improve your productivity is really by closing your email client, set Notify to check every 15 minutes. This is such that you won’t get too distracted by incoming emails the moment they come in.

Viewing Emails

If you’re familiar with Quick Look, this will feel right at home. Hit the spacebar with a message selected and you’ll be able to read the email in its full HTML glory.

Composing and Replying

To reply an email quickly, hit the reply button and a small little window will appear enabling you to type your message.

You can also use the same window for composing new emails by hitting the “+” icon at the bottom left or use a keyboard shortcut “Cmd+N”.

Really useful!

Conclusion

At $10, Notify is a great little app for email notifications and then some. Try it!