iOS: The popular email client for Macs, Sparrow, released its iPhone version today. On top of sporting a similar look to the desktop client, the app comes packed with a few handy features, including swipe control of the entire interface, a smart contact list that sorts your contacts, and a few features that will be familiar to those who use the Mac version.
The desktop version of Sparrow is our pick for the best email client on Mac OS X and for the most part the mobile version sticks to the same design. You control most of the app with swipe gestures instead of button presses, it imports pictures from Facebook of your contacts, and its most handy feature is that it lists you most frequent contacts at the top of a list instead of alphabetical order. It also has the same threaded conversation view as the desktop client, a great search engine, a quick sender switch, and one feature iPhone users have been asking for since the iPhone was first introduced: a mark all as read button.
Two big problems with the iPhone version of Sparrow should be noted. First, it doesn't support POP email accounts. If you have your own email server and it uses POP, don't bother with Sparrow. If you're on the likes of Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, or your own with IMAP support you'll be fine. However, the other big caveat is that Sparrow does not support push notifications. This means you have to manually check your email and you won't be notified when new mail arrives. It's a pretty big missing feature that you should consider before checking it out. Sparrow is available now in the iTunes App Store for $2.99.
Sparrow | iTunes App Store