Continuing something of a theme of bringing bits of Google to Windows Phone this week, MetroMail is a new third party client that aims to bring all of Gmail rather than just the raw messaging experience offered by the standard Windows Phone mailbox system. It largely succeeds too, with just a few omissions and glitches....

From the Windows Phone Store description:

It's time to finally get a first-class Gmail experience on Windows Phone! The first Gmail app written and designed from the ground up specifically for Windows Phone, is now here. Why should someone use this app over the native client?

• First-class support for archiving, starred emails, and labels
• Support for inbox tabs (e.g. Primary, Social, Promotions)
• No more broken threads when replying to emails
• Server-side search functionality with support for advanced Gmail search operators
• Toast notifications support for new emails
• Support for multiple From addresses within the same account
• Proper rendering of long HTML emails
• Possible to concatenate multiple accounts under 1 unread counter (for use with a single live tile or the lock screen)

Sounds good, right, but just how much of the Gmail experience can be handled by a third party title, presumably guessing its way into Google's arcane custom IMAP set-up?

Here's MetroMail in action:

Aha - security (i.e. handing my Google password over to a third party) was a worry, but it's good to see reassurances like this when opening MetroMail for the first time. (right) The opening view of your Gmail Primary mailbox. Red bars indicate 'unread'.

Managing labels means filtering which message views appear in your app's panorama - in this case, I've just toggled 'Social' on... (right) Reading my first email in Gmail. Note the immediate tip/toast at the top of the screen...

...This gets amplified into a dismissable tip.... and then the point is banged home with an extra message!! We get it - emails are shown in static form until you tap on the message body and then you can do more with them....

A selection toolbar button brings up a familiar check box view, for easy deleting or archiving. (right) There's plenty to play with in the settings (though not a way to change the font sizes used, sadly), with the option to have both live tiles and notifications - if you're happy for stats on your Gmail data to bounce through thid party servers.

Composing an email - and yes, recipient names are auto-filled from Gmail's memory (or from Windows Phone 'People'. (right) Full Gmail search is very, very welcome - and powerful. Almost a reason to keep this client around even if you don't use it day to day....

There's welcome support for multiple Google accounts; (right) MetroMail's not perfect yet and I was able to crash it such that it would just loop 'resuming' forever - a phone restart was needed to get it working again. Teething troubles?

Aside from the crash, I was also struck that there's no option for attachments - I know Windows Phone has no user accessible file system, but surely photos and Office Mobile documents (etc) could be picked, if needed? And there's no way to 'Share via MetroMail' elsewhere in the OS. Maybe something for a future update!

MetroMail plays well with Windows Phone on the whole, with instant fast app resume etc. Pressing 'back' when in the main UI exits the application by default, but one of the settings lets you change this to leave the app 'running'. Something of a subtle distinction under Windows Phone, but leaving it 'running' does give faster resumption of the Gmail experience.

Worth playing with, at least. You can buy MetroMail for 79p (or equivalent) in the Windows Phone Store here.