As part of its Iterative Web App series, Google announced today on the Official Google Mobile Blog the introduction of the “Stacked Cards Interface” on the Gmail web-based application for iPad, which was introduced back in April. Then in June, Gmail for iPad was updated with a new compose window.
According to Google, the new Stacked Cards Interface is based on feedback by users, who apparently requested a way to select and manage various conversations.
Google Mobile Software Engineering Intern Liam Asher Segel-Brown explains:
“In the past, performing actions on selected conversations was awkward. There were two similar toolbars on the screen: one on the bottom left and the other on the top right. The former affected the selected conversations, while the latter affected the currently open conversation. Since the toolbars’ buttons looked similar, it was easy to mistakenly use the wrong toolbar. Sound confusing? It was.”
Now, selected conversations will be stacked on the right, allowing users to easily organize, archive, or delete them. Additionally, Google has removed the second toolbar, which makes it less confusing to work on the conversations. Unfortunately, the new Stacked Cards Interface is only available in the U.S. in English. To access it, users must visit Gmail.com in Safari on their iPad.
The company also indicates that the new interface allowed the team to experiment with CSS3 transitions, which apparently make mobile applications look and feel similar to their desktop counterparts.