
Dropbox Acquires Mailbox - nimz
https://blog.dropbox.com/2013/03/welcome-mailbox/
======
shardling
Could... someone tell me what Mailbox _is_? (i.e. what makes it special.)
Their website is weirdly devoid of an explanation.

~~~
tb303
It's a mail app that treats inbox triage like shoving all your physical messes
in time-based closets instead of actually dealing with the mess (like
Boomerang). But it has a few very clever swipe-based interactions that are an
improvement upon every mail app around, and those alone are worthy of all the
attention the app's received. Just like PTR, others can implement these
interactions and the app won't be novel for much longer. But for now, it's the
only one doing it.

~~~
dclowd9901
Still, the whole thing smacks of Jobs-era Apple-like overabundant zeal.

It's a mailbox that attaches mail organization to gestures rather than
buttons. Big whoop.

~~~
Karunamon
Small and incremental improvements over a current iteration can kick a product
from "meh" to "must have". Remember the iPod?

You solve one minor annoyance in an existing product and you might just have
the next Big Thing® on your hands.

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ishansharma
Now only if they launch an email service of their own and integrate Dropbox
with it for stuff like attachments and we will have a potential GMail killer.

~~~
kmfrk
Well, if my files still map to a checksum hash that is compared to other's
files for storage redundancy, I'll stay with Gmail for the privacy.

~~~
ceejayoz
There's no reason to believe that Gmail doesn't do the same thing for
attachments. It's entirely possible they dedupe in the same manner.

~~~
wangweij
When Dropbox sees a dup, it does not upload the file at all and therefore you
know there is a dup. If I understand correctly, Gmail always uploads the
attachment. When there is a dup Google saves storage space. Users will never
noticed any difference.

~~~
ceejayoz
That just makes the potential privacy violation undetectable, though. Doesn't
remove it in any way.

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michaelmartin
Wow. Just over a month ago they were posting their "Week 1 In Review," that
was a fast acquisition!

This one is actually quite exciting I think though. They already have the
product, but they need to scale like crazy. A company like Dropbox will help
massively with that, and hopefully the service will grow without the Twitter-
esque growing pains we're used to.

I'd far rather see these guys acquired by a company interested in keeping the
product, than a company who just needs a talented team.

~~~
DanielRibeiro
But it started two years ago: <http://www.mailboxapp.com/story/> and
<http://www.crunchbase.com/company/orchestra>

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neovive
"Whether it’s your Dropbox or your Mailbox, we want to find ways to simplify
your life." Great tagline! Synergies are even present at the brand level. :)

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JeremyKolb
I hope dropbox builds on what Mailbox is currently doing. It would suck if
mailbox just went away because Dropbox just wanted to get some more talent.

~~~
dirtyaura
I think this is obviously not just a talent acquisition. An email client is
something that Dropbox needs in the long run to provide awesome integrated
experience for your productivity tasks. Without it, they won't be able to
compete with Google on user experience.

I'm really happy for this acquisition. It could be an early sign of a new
trend in which companies heading to IPO buy strategic products and teams in
the early stages to build something awesome together.

Facebook's Instagram acquisition could be seen this way, but it was much more
defensive move. Mailbox acquisition is clearly done from more win-win
perspective.

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pazimzadeh
The funny thing is that I think Mailbox has put much care and ingenuity into
their iPhone app than Dropbox has. The 2007 four tabs at the bottom UI is not
the _best_ way to browse your files.

~~~
pifflesnort
What's wrong with tabs?

I'm personally not a big fan of designers trying to out-clever user
familiarity by getting rid of tabs (or other standard interaction models to
which users are accustomed).

Are tabs sexy? Maybe not, or at least designers don't think so. However, tabs
are very well placed in terms of usability, very familiar to users, instantly
understandable, and a lot less complicated than the back-bending design
gymnastics some designers are doing just to be different from Apple.

~~~
seivan
Same here, what the guy doesn't understand is that tab based scale easily when
doing universal apps.

The tabs move over to a side panel on the iPad. Works out of the box and
offers the ability to write a single code base for both platforms.

Most designers ("UX monkeys") are too dumb to realise this as they are just
Photoshop slingers and can't code for shit nor know the SDK.

It has an amazing cost benefit when you're a small startup and want to push to
both platforms without compromising design.

Seriously, Tab based works wonders when doing universal - mostly because it's
out of the box. Another way is the side panel. Now that comes out of the box
for iPad, but not iPhone.

Using a tab gives you the ability to have a tab on the iPhone and side panel
on the iPad with as little change as possible.

~~~
pazimzadeh
I may lack coding chops, but you lack imagination.

Don't let the coders design, I guess.
[http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/03/10/designers-are-
not-p...](http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/03/10/designers-are-not-
programmers/)

I replied above: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5382745>

~~~
seivan
I do have imagination, but I also do logic. What you don't grasp that iOS
developers who can design kinda make most designers useless. They can figure
out the cost/benefit of particular design details.

You got a long run way, sure, go ahead and customise the crap out of
everything. Short run way? Try to custom the native components
(tabs,navigation bars, action-sheets and etc).

Most designers are too stupid to actually be able to figure out that some
things are hard to do.

Makes me thing of the strike through and "bold" text when the iOS SDK first
came out. Trying to convince designers that a check mark would take a minute
to do compared to a strike through was such a fucking hell and left a bad
taste in my mouth. Our run way was short, the SDK new and certain things
didn't come out of the box.

The cost benefit analysis is in the developers hand. If he/she can design then
that makes outside designers useless.

The only thing I actually need is illustrators for icons and drawings.
Designers and/or "Mobile UX Experts" are redundant.

~~~
pazimzadeh
I think that you don't actually disagree with me. Dropbox does not have a
short runway, so I don't know why you keep bringing that up.

Obviously, development and design are not mutually exclusive. Loren Brichter
for example, is a great designer and a great developer. By not relying on
Apple's standard components, he created one of the best Mac apps (Tweetie)
which set a new bar for Mac apps and inspired others to do the same (Sparrow).

I like when designers and developers who are perfectionists work together:
[http://www.cabel.name/2007/09/coda-toolbar-and-three-
pixel-c...](http://www.cabel.name/2007/09/coda-toolbar-and-three-pixel-
conundrum.html).

If you can't implement the designs that you dream of, don't convince yourself
that the dream wasn't a good one. It sounds like the app you were working on
was a to-do list of sorts. I suppose that you think that too much thought went
into the design of this app, then:
<http://culturedcode.com/things/iphone/makingof/> Somehow, they managed to
ship a finished product in 2008 without sacrificing good design.

This obviously is only capable if you have enough resources, including
development talent. Do you think that Dropbox lacks the resources to create a
better app? Or is your point that we should quit when it gets too hard?

~~~
seivan
I'm talking general run way, not Dropbox. If you can cut your costs
efficiently, you should, regardless of who you are.

I am not saying you should rely on native standards without innovating, I am
saying a developer is a better person to make those decisions where you wanna
tweak design that might be hellish in code than a designer.

I like developers who can design. Period. Especially iOS where the damn
controllers are called -VIEW-Controllers. If you're a startup, get a iOS
developer who can design. It's cheaper, it's smarter. It's better. Less person
to maintain, less communication errors and those thing happen because we're
human.

It's one of the platforms where the developer SHOULD be able to design and
rightfully do so.

I've never come to respect designers for iOS (I can't speak for Android, but I
wonder if it's the same). One trick ponies. If you can't code your views, then
get a different job. I am sure there are developers who can design and then
code it. <http://flyosity.com>

Don't get those oil snakes men that trick you into thinking their bullshit
user interface design education is worth anything.

The only objective UX is speed, and that comes from the developer. Most of the
time UX (and design) is subjective. Sure you have bad ones, and good ones, but
in the end it's mostly a matter of taste. Get a developer who has taste.

Most developers are also "app users", so they should be aware of what works
and what doesn't and can work in their own "smart" features. Drag to refresh,
swipe for menu and etc. Design comes with that.

Having worked for so many UX dickheads, who were just managers who couldn't
code... or even better "idea-cunts" I've come to hate them more than MBA's. At
least an MBA knows stuff I might not be aware of.

It's not just about run way. I rather have 2-3 developers who can design than
mixing in some non-dev who just wastes everyones time.

So you have a design suggestion (read IDEA)? Woopdi-fucking do so do my 3
developers as well. Except they can code it.

That's what UX people are.. idea guys... managers...useless.

"Getting into the tech scene when you have no skills" - Easy, just tell them
you're a product and UX guy [http://josephwalla.com/getting-into-the-tech-
scene-when-you-...](http://josephwalla.com/getting-into-the-tech-scene-when-
you-have-no-skills)

------
dgrant
As an Android user who has never tried Mailbox, what makes it so great?
(briefly)

~~~
stevoyoung
1) The app is extremely well designed 2) There are some slick features that
are virtually friction less to use such as telling the app to remind you about
an email next week. 3) with #1 and #2 combined you have a more pleasant email
experience than other clients.

All that being said, the problem with Mailbox as a standalone company is this:
<http://pandodaily.com/2013/02/11/wham-bam-thank-you-mailbox/>

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niggler
How long till we see Dropbox go public?

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kevingibbon
Congrats Gentry and team!! If you'd like Gmail + Dropbox attachment management
now, use Attachments.me

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changdizzle
any word on if orchestra will still be worked on / going to dropbox?

~~~
jonpaul
That's exactly what I came here to ask. I hated Mailbox, but love Orchestra
and use Orchestra daily. I hope they keep it around, but I have an odd feeling
that they won't.

