Hybrid email client and to-do list app, Taskbox, launches new look and features to challenge Mailbox

Highly anticipated iOS email app Mailbox launched nearly a month ago, but frustratingly, tens of thousands are still caught in its dreaded waiting list. If you’re looking for an alternative solution to inbox overload that you can use today, Taskbox, a hybrid email client and to-do list app, has reached version 2.0 and it just might do the trick.

Taskbox first got our attention during its public beta launch back in October. At the time, the app was simply too buggy and temporarily priced at a rather high $6.99, leading us to recommend that readers hold off for a more complete release. Then, following a canceled Kickstarter project and a $600,000 seed round from the Central Texas Angel Network, the app is back with a sleeker look, push notification support, full Gmail label support and numerous other features.

Now priced at $2.99, Taskbox operates similarly to Mailbox and most other mobile email clients, with one major exception: tasks. Instead of Mailbox’s “Later” and “Lists” functions, Taskbox truly commits to the idea of turning email into a manageable to-do list. The app lets you turn any email into a task by simply swiping it to the right.

If you’d like you can add more details to each task, like setting the priority level (1-5), due date and even assignee. By default, tasks will be assigned to you, but you can set anyone to be responsible for a task, and then keep track of what’s been completed by checking the “Assigned” tab. Tasks can also be sorted by received date, priority or due date.

Making the tasks feature more interesting, Taskbox also comes with a Dashboard view, which lets you view on-time and over-due tasks by priority, as well as the number of conversations in your inbox per account.

Other handy features include the ability to manually order emails, further encouraging a to-do list mentality.

Like Mailbox, Taskbox is currently Gmail-only. Taskbox doesn’t feel as sleek or polished as Mailbox does, but it makes up for that with a much more pervasive get things done attitude. Mailbox, on the other hand, feels much more general purpose, with its Boomerang-like features and lists.

If you’re itching for something better than what Gmail and Apple currently offer on the iPhone, Taskbox is worth checking out. How it will compare to Mailbox depends on how you use it, but if you still have 100,000 people in-front of you, $2.99 isn’t too much to swallow for something you might use every day.

➤ Taskbox

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