A new update for the Tipbit mobile email app for iPhone promises better social integration, an improved interface and faster search results for messages and other information even when not stored locally on the device, aiming to make it easier for users to work more efficiently on a smartphone.
The upgrade comes amid increased competition in the market for mobile email and productivity, exemplified most recently by Microsoft’s acquisition of the Acompli email apps for a reported $200 million. Others trying to make headway in mobile email include Boxer, CloudMagic and Google’s Inbox.
Based in the Seattle region, Tipbit is led by CEO Gordon Mangione, a former executive at XenSource and Citrix who previously led Microsoft’s Exchange and SQL Server businesses. The company has raised a total of $6.5 million from investors including Ignition Partners and Andreessen Horowitz.
Tipbit for iPhone lets users opt-in to have their folders indexed by the app, essentially creating a personal search engine that the app can then query, speeding up the delivery of results.
The app also integrates with calendar, contacts and social networks to bring in additional information about people the user is communicating with or meeting with, such as their latest LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook updates.
“We really try to surface in the app everything you need to be productive — to respond to an email, to get ready for a meeting, to get background so that you’re able to respond quickly and efficiently on your phone,” Mangione said in a recent interview.
He added, “It manifests itself as a mail client, but really what we’re building for you is your own personal search service.”
The service works with Microsoft Exchange in addition to Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com and integrates services including Salesforce, Dropbox and Evernote, in addition to the major social networks.
The ad-free service is free to end users, and Mangione said the company doesn’t share the user’s personal data in any way. The company’s long-term business model involves charging subscription fees to big companies that would want to use the service to index their enterprise data.
