Gmail users can now choose to let Google sort their inbox by the most pressing messages, thanks to a new feature called Priority Inbox — think of it as a sort of reverse spam filter which bubbles messages to the top of the queue based on what you read and respond to.
In the full browser version of Gmail, the priority inbox is on top, followed by the items you have starred, and then finally the rest of your messages in a stream as usual, with most recent on top. While that might sound complicated, after testing it over the weekend, I’d be angry if I had to go back. The new feature went live at midnight ET.
The interface is less complicated than it sounds. Important and unread e-mails hold the top position, the most recent 10 e-mails you have starred to mark their importance sit in the center, and everything else not spam shows up in the bottom panel. The system is optional, and even when turned on, you can move to the “normal” inbox view by clicking on “inbox” in the left panel.”
Google has tested the feature internally and with thousands of regular users and companies that use Google Apps, according to Keith Coleman, Gmail’s product director.
“The main measure internally was that people were happier and got some e-mail sanity back,” Coleman said.
The feature is targeted at heavy e-mail users who get hundreds, if not thousands of e-mails, per day.
“When we launched Gmail the problem was spam versus non-spam,” Coleman said. “But the problem has evolved — now it’s the stuff in between that’s hard to manage.”
Coleman refers to messages such as deal offers, e-mail lists, and updates from companies you’ve purchased from as “bologna,” — basically mail you don’t mind getting, but which gets in the way of your critical messages from co-workers, bosses, clients and friends.
“This is like a spam filter for the bologna,” Coleman said.
The feature will show up as a red link in the top right corner of Gmail for users this week,
