Put Email In Its Place

by Taylor Wilson | @_twils Mailbox, an app released by Orchestra Inc. in February, puts a modern spin on email. The mobile app is engineered to help users deal with email overload and functions like a to-do list. Features allow users to swipe left or right to save emails for particular times in the future, read an entire conversation in one swoop with a chat-like layout, activate snooze timers, and send message strings to the archive folder or a customizable lists folder. Emails can also be easily deleted with a longer swipe.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/54553882[/vimeo]

In just over a month, the app was processing over 60 million emails every day. The next milestone came a couple weeks later when Orchestra Inc. announced the Mailbox app hit one million users.

Dropbox made the decision to move into products outside its core file-sharing service and acquired the Mailbox app earlier this month. Reports have put the final amount for the acquisition between $50 and $100 million. Considering that the Palo Alto, CA based Orchestra Inc. was valued around $15-$20 million, the deal equals a substantial return for its investors. As part of the deal, the 13 employees of Mailbox, including alums of Apple, Stanford, and Ideo, will join Dropbox. This acquisition comes as Dropbox continues to experience growth. Recently, the company announced that it has more than 100 million users and has around 250 employees.

One of the app’s downsides is that it only works for people who own an iPhone and use Gmail as their email service. The reservation aspect (after downloading the app your waiting list number appears) might turn some users off as well. What are your thoughts on an app like Mailbox? Would you use it?