Review: Sparrow 1.0.1

Product: Sparrow 1.0.1
Developers: Dominique Leca, Hoa Dinh Viet and Jean-Marc Denis
Website: http://www.sparrowmailapp.com
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2011
Retail Price: $9.99 via Mac App Store

Do we really need another Mac e-mail client? That’s the question that came to my mind when I first encountered Sparrow, just a few short weeks ago.

Sparrow, just a few hundredths of a point release past 1.0 (as of this writing), was garnering a lot of positive buzz around the Mac community – much like Tweetie did when it was first released. As a reasonably satisfied Mail.app user for many years, I was curious to find out what the hype was all about.

As all things tech, my curiosity eventually got the best of me. I visited the Sparrow website and watched the introductory video. After reading numerous reviews online, and buoyed by the positive comments on the Mac App Store, I succumbed to temptation and purchased the program.

Sparrow is the first application I’ve bought without having the ability to test it out first. (The developer’s blog mentions that a free Sparrow Lite version is waiting approval from the Mac App Store as of this writing.)

As of this writing, Sparrow only supports G-mail accounts. IMAP support for other services are promised in the 1.1 release.

First Impressions

The big difference between Sparrow and Mail is the Sparrow user interface. It’s obvious that Sparrow’s minimal interface was inspired by Tweetie, but how well would that interface translate to a regular e-mail user like myself? Is there a compelling reason to switch to Sparrow if you are already satisfied with Mail.app (or any other Mac e-mail application, for that matter)?

Read on, true believers…

I’ve put Sparrow through its paces as my main e-mail client for approximately two weeks before writing this review. Upon first launch, a dialog box appears asking for your name, email address, password and signature. Sparrow then retrieves your e-mail. That’s it! Set-up was incredibly easy.

The first thing I noticed about Sparrow is its streamlined, ultra-minimalistic interface. This arrangement allows me focus squarely on the e-mail messages. I found Sparrow’s small window footprint to be ideal, particularly on my laptop, where screen real-estate is at a premium.

Each received message shows the name of the sender, the subject, and the first few lines of the text body. You can follow conversation threads very easily in Sparrow. Double-clicking on a message will cause the email to pop open in a separate window. If you prefer, you can reveal messages in a slide-out tab, available on the lower right corner of the application’s window.

Managing multiple G-mail accounts is simple – you can configure new accounts within Sparrow’s preferences, as shown below.

Composing an email is straightforward, and drag-n-drop file attachment supports image previews.

I have several e-mail folders configured within my G-mail accounts, and my initial concern was that Sparrow wouldn’t support them. My fears were quickly put to rest: Sparrow handles G-mail folders with aplomb, making it very easy to archive emails into their specific folder via G-mail labels. Accessing archived e-mails is also a breeze. Clicking on the tag, located on the lower lefthand side of the Sparrow window, will bring up all the archived folders you have created in your G-mail account.

The Sparrow user interface is very intuitive; managing my e-mail has never been easier (or fun!).

Conclusion

Sparrow is a really slick e-mail client, but is it worth the hassle (and $10) to switch from Apple’s Mail.app to Sparrow? After two weeks of usage, I would say a qualified “YES”.

Why the qualification?

If you don’t use G-mail accounts, Sparrow (in its present state) is somewhat useless. You’ll have to wait until Sparrow version 1.1. However, if you live and breathe G-mail like I do, you’ll find there’s a lot to love with Sparrow, particularly if you have multiple G-mail accounts. Basic AppleScript support has been added in Sparrow 1.0.1, for those that need it.

After using Sparrow for 2 solid weeks, I have all but forgotten about Apple’s Mail.app. Sparrow’s speed and streamlined interface makes managing e-mails much easier and (dare I say, fun!). In my humble opinion, Sparrow is worth the $10 asking price – especially if you manage multiple G-mail accounts on a regular basis.

Sparrow 1.0.1 gets 4.5/5 Bob Weiners.

Krishna February 22, 2011 E-mail clients for Mac, review, Sparrow