Mozilla’s popular open source email client Thunderbird or its spin-off subsidiary MZLA Technologies Corporation will soon be available as a mobile app for smartphones and tablets. The app is premiering under Android and from the free email client, K-9 Mail appears.
As Jason Evangelho, marketing manager for Mozilla Thunderbird at the fledgling MZLA Technologies Corporation, announced in a post on the company’s blog, the K-9 Mail mail app, developed by Jesse Vincent, will in the future be developed within the Thunderbird family. product family and in the medium term will already be completely absorbed in Mozilla Thunderbird for Android.
That’s why we’re excited to announce that K-9 Mail is officially joining the Thunderbird family today. Eventually, K-9 Mail will turn into Thunderbird on Android. That means the name itself will change and adopt Thunderbird branding. Before that happens, we need to reach certain development milestones that will align K-9 Mail with Thunderbird’s features and appearance. Jason Evangelho, Marketing Manager for Thunderbird
The MZLA Technologies Corporation was formed a little over two years ago to further develop Thunderbird and has set itself the following major goal of Open source email client for Android and iOS written on the flag. K-9 Mail, which will serve as the basis for these apps, has now been transferred to Mozilla, as the donation page of the free application that runs under the Apache License 2.0. In a first step-by-step plan, the developers describe their first steps towards Thunderbird for Android.
Thunderbird on Android Roadmap
- Account configuration with Thunderbird account automatic configuration.
- Synchronization between desktop and mobile Thunderbird.
- Improved Thunderbird folder management.
- Message filters support.
For Thunderbird via the Google Play Store and additionally as a free Android package (.APK) should be offered, but the client’s UI/UX design will be revised and K-9 Mail will gradually be adapted to the look and feel of Thunderbird.
It had to be open source, respect the user, and be perfect for power users who crave customization and a rich set of features. Jason Evangelho, Marketing Manager for Thunderbird
Just a few weeks ago, Ryan Lee, Product and Business Development Manager for Mozilla Thunderbird, said that working on the user interface (UI) and associated user experience (UX) is a prerequisite for migrating the client from the Linux and Windows desktop. to mobile devices with Android, iOS, and iPadOS.
With K-9 Mail, the Thunderbird developers have now found a foundation for Android, the app is available on both the Google play store as well as through the alternative App Store F-Droid available. Basically, the Thunderbird mobile client is already designed for Android and only needs to be adapted for iOS and iPadOS.
Even before the mobile app, Thunderbird 102 should peak in 2022 and offer the following innovations with the release.
In addition to the integration of the matrix protocol, which is considered particularly safe and for this reason is also used in schools and governments in Schleswig-Holstein and for the Bundeswehr messenger “BwMessenger”, other modules have to be completely revised.
What’s Coming In Thunderbird 102 (2022) : The Big Stuff:
- The Room Toolbar
- New address book
- Link sample cards
- Account Configuration Hub
- Matrix support (for now)
- Redesign message header
- Import/Export
Mozilla
Via about:config → chat.prpls.prpl-matrix.disable the matrix protocol can be activated in a beta version from Thunderbird 91.
The new “Spaces” toolbar is intended to make it easier to organize workspaces and modules such as the new address book, inbox, and outbox, chat, calendar, and tasks, and to switch between workspaces and modules, and make them even faster access to users. the user.
Account Setup Hub (Image: Mozilla) In addition to a revised link preview for emails, called the “Link Preview Card”, which can convert a link within an email into a rich link preview, showing the content of the website in a card is displayed, Mozilla Thunderbird 102.0 has a new “Account Setup Hub” intended to make creating user accounts much easier and faster.
Link Preview Card (Image: Mozilla) Spaces Toolbar (Image: Mozilla) There is also a native implementation of the import and export function for user accounts, which no longer needs to be implemented with an add-on, and the email header has been redesigned.
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