Gmail is the email application of choice in the world of David Pierce. I went back and forth for a long time, trying various Web- and desktop-based applications, but Google eventually convinced me.

The tipping point was a few customizations and features that I found critical to any great email application, and Gmail is slowly but surely rolling out every one of them. Someone at Google’s looking out for me.

Of all the things I love about Gmail, there are five that sold me on the application as the place to essentially manage my life. Here, in order of importance to me, are those five.

Offline Gmail

This is a new feature, and it’s the one that’s going to keep me around Gmail indefinitely. With this new Labs feature (meaning it’s experimental, and not built directly into Gmail- yet), you can download your Gmail email to your desktop. Then, if you lose your Internet connection, fear not- you can continue to use your Gmail just as you would. All changes you make (organization, written emails, etc.) are synced back to the server when you reconnect to the Internet.

Everything- even attachments- is synchronized, and there’s even a “Flaky Connection Mode” that makes Gmail only connect when you make a change- otherwise, you can work easily offline. I can now write, edit and organize email from anywhere, including when I’m not online. Lack of this support is why I tried Outlook and Thunderbird so many times, and now Gmail’s got them both beat.

Task Management

When I get an email that requires me to do something or take some action, I hated having to switch over to a new application, check my tasks, add a new one, and then go back to Gmail to make sure I remembered everything.

To answer this, Gmail rolled out not one, but two new features: the in-page Google Tasks, and the Remember the Milk Gadget. With either one (I use RTM), you can add, edit, and manage all your tasks right from your email window. Another point for Gmail, another reason I don’t need Thunderbird or Outlook.

Inline Calendar

This is largely the same as above. Let’s say I get an email that says “hey, want to have lunch tomorrow at 12:30?” (I get them all the time- I’m just popular like that. No big deal.) I hate, HATE having to open a new window, check my calendar, go back to Gmail to remember the time, go back to the calendar to put it in, and go back to Gmail to deal with the email. With Gmail’s Google Calendar Gadget, my calendar lives on the left side of my Gmail page. I can see my calendar, add to it, and figure out where I have to be and when- all on one page. No more forgetting an appointment because I didn’t look at my Google Calendar- I can’t miss it on my Gmail page.

Simplifications

I’m a drag-and-drop junkie, as well as a lover of keyboard shortcuts. This might sound like a minor gripe, but the old Gmail “More Actions…” button that required you to scroll down a list to find what you wanted to do was a huge pain. Now, with the new buttons and keyboard shortcuts, moving emails is easy. Just type L and then the label name to label a given email, or V and then the label to label and archive the email- essentially like moving it to a folder. It’s faster, easier, and more efficient email management, and it’s a great move from Gmail.

There are two other buttons I’ve fallen in love with, both available in Labs- “Send and Archive,” which sends an email and gets it out of your face in one fell swoop, and “Mark as Read” gives me a one-click way to go through my email and get my Unread number down to Zero.

Customization

“Customization” is my way of cheating and lumping a whole bunch of features I love into one bullet point. Gmail’s themes make my Gmail look unique. The “Right Side Chat” and “Right Side Labels” labs features let me move things around to where I want them. “Navbar Drag and Drop” lets me move all the various Gmail gadgets around on the page.

All these gadgets let me change the look of Gmail to the way I want it, which is much appreciated (I have a large screen, so I like having things on both sides so I can see more of the gadgets at once.) The customization tools are critical, and let me feel like it’s my Gmail, and that goes a long way for me.

Some of these features (like the new keyboard shortcuts) are already available in your Gmail. The rest can be found by going to “Settings,” clicking “Labs,” and then selecting “Enable” next to the gadgets you want to use.

If you want to use the Remember the Milk gadget, it’s slightly more complicated. In Labs, enable the “Add any Gadget by URL” gadget. Then, go back into Settings and choose “Gadgets,” and paste in this URL:

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/modules/gmail/rtm.xml

Once you do that, save changes and go back to Gmail. Log in, and you’re good to go!

Here’s what my Gmail page looks like, right now:

I’m sold on Gmail- feature after feature is being rolled out that makes me a bigger fan. My latest favorite, brand new: “Multiple Inboxes,” which lets you see more than one label or search at the same time.

What’s your email program of choice? If it’s Gmail, how did you make it your own?