Gmail Adds Drag-and-Drop Attachment Uploads, Deeper Calendar Integration
Starting today, Google Chrome and Firefox 3.6 users can drag and drop attachments into Gmail messages without hassling through the slow, kind of annoying manual file upload. Gmail has also increased their support …
Context & Ripple Effects
Gmail's attachment handling has moved slowly: the last notable change was when Google doubled the maximum attachment size to 20 MB back in May 2007, and commentators had noted even then that web-based email had seen only token improvements in a decade while messaging and social products raced ahead. Drag-and-drop upload finally closes that gap — but only for Chrome and Firefox 3.6 users, making browser version the gatekeeper for basic mail ergonomics.
The timing matters for Google's client strategy: Chrome was the only desktop browser to gain usage share in February, edging up from 5.22% to 5.61%, and Firefox remains a frontrunner in the browser improvement race. On the mail side, Gmail nudged past AOL Email in August 2009 to become the third-largest U.S. webmail service per comScore, so small experience advantages compound in a tight ranking battle.
First-order effects
- Chrome and Firefox 3.6 users can now drop files directly into a compose window instead of clicking through the slow manual uploader; Gmail users on other browsers see no change at all.
- Calendar gains surface inside the mail workflow itself, continuing the Labs-era pattern of bolting scheduling onto the inbox rather than sending users to a separate app.
Second-order effects
- Shipping a visible feature only where the browser supports it turns attachment handling into a reason to run current Chrome or Firefox — reinforcing exactly the February share movement that favored Chrome.
- Rival webmail services are pushed to match browser-tied conveniences or lose ground in the U.S. ranking where Gmail has already overtaken AOL Email for third place in unique visitors.
Third-order effects
- If capability-gated features become standard practice, webmail splits into tiers defined by browser choice, shifting competition from server-side storage limits toward client-side experience.
- Each increment — the 20 MB cap raise in 2007, drag-and-drop today — accumulates toward Gmail operating as a lightweight workspace hub rather than a message store, the concrete answer to the long-running 'token improvements' critique of webmail.
The trend: Web-based email is graduating from a static message store into an app-like client, with each new capability tied to the latest browser engines and quietly pulling users toward whichever browser ships it first.