Google Takes 2nd Swing at Gmail iPhone App

UPDATE: After two weeks to think about what they did wrong, Google on Wednesday (again) unveiled its Gmail application for Apple iOS.

The Internet giant released an earlier version of the long-awaited app for iPhones and iPads earlier this month, only to pull it down a mere hours later after users found a rather annoying bug.

"In the short time the app was public we received a lot of helpful feedback and feature requests," the company posted on its blog Wednesday. "This included requests for everything from bigger features like multiple account support to customizations like improved notifications and mobile specific signatures."

If you managed to download and install the original version during the narrow window it was available, you'll need to log out or uninstall it before installing the new one.

Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 3:23 p.m.: Whoops.

Google released its long-awaited Gmail application for Apple iOS on Wednesday, only to pull the iPhone and iPad app hours later after it became clear that it was less than a success.

"The iOS app we launched today contained a bug with notifications," Google said in a short statement posted to its Twitter account. "We have pulled the app to fix the problem. Sorry we messed up."

Business Insider reports that the app was riddled with bugs and just plain "lousy." Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, likewise, exploded with comments from angry Apple users.

CNET was able to quickly review the app before Google yanked it from the Apple app store. Here was their take:

Gmail does not appear in the Notifications submenu that's new to iOS 5, nor is there a notifications entry when you access the Gmail app from the global iPhone settings menu.

In addition to the notifications error, which signifies a coding mistake for the 'aps-environment' string, users are also disappointed that the Gmail app doesn't support multiple user accounts and archiving with gestures, and that the app isn't as graphically rich or as diverse from the Gmail Web app, among other grievances.

Sounds almost as bad as MobileMe. At any rate, it sounds like Google’s got work to do.