I was looking for a Linux email client app that didn’t look dull and could run in the background without consuming a lot of RAM.
Thunderbird is believed to the best email app but it has a drawback of not running in the background without showing a taskbar entry. Kmail is a nice app but it is frustrating when used with KDEWallet. Evolution, the default application for the GNOME desktop environment is powerful but if you forget the GOA password (GNOME Online Accounts), you won’t be able to delete an email account.
After trying Kmail, Evolution, Thunderbird, I installed Mailspring, an open source email client for desktops. The app supports Linux, Mac, and Windows operating systems. It supports IMAP only. It is available in two variants. I’m using the free version of MS that enables you to link up to 4 email accounts. The Pro edition costs $8 per month.
When you run Mailspring, you’ll be asked to register/create a new Mailspring account. Once your account is registered, you can add your email accounts. The first word that hit my mind when I added an email account to Mailspring is “wow”.
MS employs beautiful fonts and simple effects. By default, it shows an icon in the taskbar when you minimize it. You can configure MS to run in the background on system startup.
MS ships with 6 color themes – Light, Dark, Taiga, Ubuntu, Less is More, and Darkside. You can also create a theme of your own.
Unlike many other email clients, Mailspring keeps conversation to one window. When you to reply to an email or when someone replies to your mail, the window is refreshed automatically.
The app allows you to bulk select unread, read, and starred emails. It provides an option to show/hide the reading pane. It flaunts buttons to open the next or previous mail.
Mailspring allows users to create rules to send emails from specific address to inbox, spam box, trash, etc. It can bulk process mails.
Also see: Windows vs Linux OS
Users can configure this application to automatically add BCC/CC addresses while they’re composing a new mail.
MS lets you search emails by the title and sender without using the search option. To search emails, right click on any of the rows displayed in the mail view and select the 1st or 2nd context menu item.
Pros
- Beautiful interface.
- Easy to use filters.
- Search box.
Cons
- Only 4 accounts are supported in the free/open source version.
- Mailspring account registration is required.
Conclusion: Mailspring is a lightweight email application. It works like a charm on low-end desktops and laptops. The app doesn’t have advertisements.
