Great news from VentureBeat: Xobni, an Outlook add-on, is now in a public beta. James got a hands-on look at it recently and shot me a beta invite last week. Since I’ve just rebuilt my Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium with Vista, I only just installed Xobni to work with Outlook 2007. In just a short few days, I can already share my belief that Xobni is a must download for Outlook users.
The application quickly indexes your mailbox and then shares useful information in sidebar as you view your mail. Using a smaller-screened device, I like how the sidebar extends and contracts as needed, just like the To-Do Bar. I should also point out that Xobni works with your mail regardless of the back-end solution you use. James uses Microsoft Exchange as did I, but I’ve migrated over to Google’s Gmail with IMAP. Xobni analyzes your mail regardless because it’s indexing the local mail store from what I can see.
Using Xobni, you’ll see basic information such as how many e-mails you’ve traded with people, what time of day they came in, etc… More importantly, you can see contact e-mails in threads to help you navigate through conversations with ease. I’m only hitting the tip of the iceberg to get you curious; while some folks may install it and shrug, I suspect the majority will be very impressed. Look over the features, give it a go and let us know what you think.
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