Postbox, Better Than TB But Worth the Price?

sflorack · 16 Nov 2009, 11:44 PM

Has anyone tried Postbox? I find the index searching amazing! However, I'm conflicted on paying money for an otherwise free program (Thunderbird). Seems like someone will figure out how Postbox is done and create an add-on for TB.

Has anyone tried and/or purchased it?

**ReuvenNY** · 17 Nov 2009, 07:21 AM

I believe the upcoming version 3 of Thunderbird has similar features.

sflorack · 17 Nov 2009, 07:31 AM

Ehhh.. not quite.

I have the beta of version 3. It does have an enhanced search capability, but not some of the features that Postbox has (or at least some of it's search conveniences).

I certainly don't mind shelling out $30 for intelligent development, but can't help but think they're a fly by night company with only one or two good ideas. Once those ideas get duplicated in TB, they'll abandon their project.

jeffpan · 17 Nov 2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

I certainly don't mind shelling out $30 for intelligent development, but can't help but think they're a fly by night company with only one or two good ideas. Once those ideas get duplicated in TB, they'll abandon their project.

I agree.

mvip · 18 Nov 2009, 12:24 AM

I haven't tried Postbox myself, but there's a pretty extensive review posted here.

sflorack · 18 Nov 2009, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvip

I haven't tried Postbox myself, but there's a pretty extensive review posted here.

Pretty decent review, however.. My concerns are not with it's current features. Playing with it for 10 minutes proved it's better than Thunderbird in many aspects. Postbox index's all emails, contacts, attachments and links so they can be searched. TB 3 already has something similar, but I like Postbox's method better. When you search for attached images, for example, Thunderbird shows the email that has the attached image whereas Postbox shows a thumbnail of the image itself.

My concern is that a group of college guys (okay, Mozilla alum) are charging for a modded freeware program and will jump ship once they make a few bucks or their efforts are duplicated as free Thunderbird add-on's.

Another nice thing of Postbox is a window that appears next to the message body showing "find recent: messages attachments images links" for that contact. Of course, Thunderbird allows you to search for messages from a certain contact, but not as easily as Postbox.

In the end, I think I'll get it.. $40 for the program and $20 for the lifetime upgrade. Also have a $10 coupon which makes it $50. Was just interested to hear anyone else's personal stories.

mvip · 18 Nov 2009, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sflorack

Pretty decent review, however.. My concerns are not with it's current features. Playing with it for 10 minutes proved it's better than Thunderbird in many aspects. Postbox index's all emails, contacts, attachments and links so they can be searched. TB 3 already has something similar, but I like Postbox's method better. When you search for attached images, for example, Thunderbird shows the email that has the attached image whereas Postbox shows a thumbnail of the image itself.

My concern is that a group of college guys (okay, Mozilla alum) are charging for a modded freeware program and will jump ship once they make a few bucks or their efforts are duplicated as free Thunderbird add-on's.

Another nice thing of Postbox is a window that appears next to the message body showing "find recent: messages attachments images links" for that contact. Of course, Thunderbird allows you to search for messages from a certain contact, but not as easily as Postbox.

In the end, I think I'll get it.. $40 for the program and $20 for the lifetime upgrade. Also have a $10 coupon which makes it $50. Was just interested to hear anyone else's personal stories.

Yeah, I think that the reliability issue is a valid concern. I guess time will tell. =)

sflorack · 18 Nov 2009, 01:01 AM

By the way.. just saw this by one of the system developers. He was asked about future developments plans, the response: We do not pre-announce features, but do feel comfortable stating that we have more good ideas in the pipeline than we could possibly implement in a lifetime!

Okay, maybe I won't be getting it.. Sounds fishy.

**ReuvenNY** · 18 Nov 2009, 01:14 AM

The search issue is important to me as well. As a Thunderbird IMAP user, It's slow and not that smooth. That is why I do the following: I redirect all my incoming Fastmail (and other services) email to a Gmail account. That Gmail account serves 2 distinct purposes:

1. Back up of all my email
2. Lightning Fast Google search of all my email

This solution may not be as elegant as having one program do it, but the search is faster and better, with the added bonus of email backup.

sflorack · 18 Nov 2009, 03:19 AM

I posted an online comment to the response I mentioned above, and it was deleted because it was "Inappropriate and non-actionable".

Quote:

Sorry, I think this is a line of BS from a company that wants people to invest in it's future.

While I've been considering a purchase, I am skeptical that Postbox has original ideas beyond it's current offering. I'd be extremely surprised if Thunderbird developers (or independent authors) don't create add-on's for TB that mimic Postbox's advantages within a few months.

That being said, paid users need to know that their $40 will be going towards more than a few good ideas. Just because others have suggested features and improvements on this site doesn't mean that Postbox has the desire or experience to make it happen.

Ennis · 20 Nov 2009, 04:37 AM

I've tried it, and frankly I don't need any of the added features. $40 USD is also too expensive for reworked freeware.

I want to add that after staying away from Thunderbird for a few years - downloading all the upgrades and not using it, I've rediscovered it as a primary email client. I'm a Mac user, and I don't like Entourage. I thought I liked Apple mail App, but I think TBird is better.

jackmfm · 1 Dec 2009, 11:07 PM

I've been using PostBox for about 2 months connected via IMAP to my FastMail account.

Works well.

Features I like:

On-going "conversation" style view, without having to sort by conversation. My inbox has 20 active conversations, but I must have a couple hundred emails. My inbox stays more focused.
The Search facility is nice.
All the same IMAP support as Thunderbird. Works well with FastMail, supports shared folders, FastMail proxies, etc.

The biggest thing I don't like:
The search isn't "immediate". This is bit picky. I'm used to interfaces like Apple Mail or Spotlight where I type a few characters and the search is immediate.

There are many customizations, as long as you are brave enough to change some of the hidden settings.

Jack

sflorack · 1 Dec 2009, 11:34 PM

I ended up getting it before the promotional price ended. (Although it wouldn't be the first time the "promotional price" was just a ruse to get start-up money.)

I still use FM's web interface quite a bit, but am starting to find the strengths of Postbox -- particularly searching. Time will tell if they are able to continue to wow me or I discover I've wasted my money.

William9 · 16 Feb 2010, 09:31 AM

I've been using Postbox on a Mac today. The Topic (aka Tag or Label) function is really nice. Apple Mail app. doesn't have that feature. The topic or tag is present on the IMAP server.
So far I really like Postbox. Yes, you can see its Thunderbird genes showing through everywhere.

William9 · 16 Feb 2010, 09:32 AM

Postbox indexed search is awesome.

16 Nov 2009, 11:44 PM	#1
sflorack The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 2,937	Postbox, Better Than TB But Worth the Price? Has anyone tried Postbox? I find the index searching amazing! However, I'm conflicted on paying money for an otherwise free program (Thunderbird). Seems like someone will figure out how Postbox is done and create an add-on for TB. Has anyone tried and/or purchased it?

1 Dec 2009, 11:07 PM	#12
jackmfm Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: USA Posts: 62	PostBox user I've been using PostBox for about 2 months connected via IMAP to my FastMail account. Works well. Features I like: On-going "conversation" style view, without having to sort by conversation. My inbox has 20 active conversations, but I must have a couple hundred emails. My inbox stays more focused. The Search facility is nice. All the same IMAP support as Thunderbird. Works well with FastMail, supports shared folders, FastMail proxies, etc. The biggest thing I don't like: The search isn't "immediate". This is bit picky. I'm used to interfaces like Apple Mail or Spotlight where I type a few characters and the search is immediate. There are many customizations, as long as you are brave enough to change some of the hidden settings. Jack

17 Nov 2009, 07:21 AM	#2
ReuvenNY Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New York Posts: 4,259	I believe the upcoming version 3 of Thunderbird has similar features.

17 Nov 2009, 07:31 AM	#3
sflorack The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 2,937	Ehhh.. not quite. I have the beta of version 3. It does have an enhanced search capability, but not some of the features that Postbox has (or at least some of it's search conveniences). I certainly don't mind shelling out $30 for intelligent development, but can't help but think they're a fly by night company with only one or two good ideas. Once those ideas get duplicated in TB, they'll abandon their project.

18 Nov 2009, 12:24 AM	#5
mvip Essential Contributor Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 244	I haven't tried Postbox myself, but there's a pretty extensive review posted here.

18 Nov 2009, 01:01 AM	#8
sflorack The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 2,937	By the way.. just saw this by one of the system developers. He was asked about future developments plans, the response: We do not pre-announce features, but do feel comfortable stating that we have more good ideas in the pipeline than we could possibly implement in a lifetime! Okay, maybe I won't be getting it.. Sounds fishy.

18 Nov 2009, 01:14 AM	#9
ReuvenNY Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New York Posts: 4,259	The search issue is important to me as well. As a Thunderbird IMAP user, It's slow and not that smooth. That is why I do the following: I redirect all my incoming Fastmail (and other services) email to a Gmail account. That Gmail account serves 2 distinct purposes: 1. Back up of all my email 2. Lightning Fast Google search of all my email This solution may not be as elegant as having one program do it, but the search is faster and better, with the added bonus of email backup.

20 Nov 2009, 04:37 AM	#11
Ennis Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 984	I've tried it, and frankly I don't need any of the added features. $40 USD is also too expensive for reworked freeware. I want to add that after staying away from Thunderbird for a few years - downloading all the upgrades and not using it, I've rediscovered it as a primary email client. I'm a Mac user, and I don't like Entourage. I thought I liked Apple mail App, but I think TBird is better.

1 Dec 2009, 11:34 PM	#13
sflorack The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 2,937	I ended up getting it before the promotional price ended. (Although it wouldn't be the first time the "promotional price" was just a ruse to get start-up money.) I still use FM's web interface quite a bit, but am starting to find the strengths of Postbox -- particularly searching. Time will tell if they are able to continue to wow me or I discover I've wasted my money.

16 Feb 2010, 09:31 AM	#14
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	I've been using Postbox on a Mac today. The Topic (aka Tag or Label) function is really nice. Apple Mail app. doesn't have that feature. The topic or tag is present on the IMAP server. So far I really like Postbox. Yes, you can see its Thunderbird genes showing through everywhere.

16 Feb 2010, 09:32 AM	#15
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	Postbox indexed search is awesome.