Spike - A Better Gmail Client for Windows Users

You’ll love the way Spike lets you manage your email. Priority Inbox puts all your most important mail front and center, redesigning the way you engage with your email client. We’ve ditched the old-style folder system to create something more streamlined. Your less important emails, such as newsletters and notifications, are sent to the “Other” inbox, while messages from the people who matter most are conveniently sent to the top of your Priority inbox.

What’s more, Spike allows you to customize how you interact with your emails by offering three distinct views: 

• Inbox view, which provides a classic sent/received partition, sorted by subject, for the more traditional email users out there. 
• Subject view, sorting your emails by (as the name would suggest) subject, but focusing on recent activity to keep active projects at the front of your mind. 
• People view, which sorts your conversations by contact and date, allowing you to communicate with an email as you would face-to-face.

Email has a long history of being a bit… well, static. It’s one of the reasons that so many instant messenger apps have come along. However, Spike’s real-time email awareness combines the best of instant messenger’s responsive design with the advanced functionality of email to create the perfect balance.

This blended approach means faster messages and faster responses, as IM is much more informal. However, real-time doesn’t mean always-on, and with Spike’s foundation firmly in Asynchronous Communication, two people can communicate fluidly without being on the same platform at the same time. This helps team wellbeing and productivity, making for a better workflow all around.

If you’re using a separate Gmail client for Windows alongside other messaging apps such as Slack or WhatsApp, then our tip for you is to STOP. Spike Groups combine the best of collaborative messaging and email to give you a truly responsive solution to team chat. Anyone can be part of the groups you create, whether they use Spike or not—it only requires an email. 

This is ideal for companies who regularly work with clients since they can be brought into group decision-making without going through the pain of creating a whole account or dealing with onboarding. 

When using many desktop Gmail clients, you’ll also have to get a separate note-taking app and switch between the two, but Spike brings it all into one place – reducing time spent clicking around and increasing productivity. What’s more, Spike Notes isn’t your run-of-the-mill note application; it can help you capture any idea by combining words, images, code, videos, and more.

They can be private to you or collaborative, allowing team members to write, edit and create simultaneously for the ultimate in teamwork. Being online, Spike Notes can be accessed anywhere, at any time, across any device, so you’re able to get ideas down whenever and wherever inspiration strikes. 

Emails are where most of our tasks are already created, with requests, questions, and deadlines being emailed to and from your team members. So why would you want to switch to a whole other app just to write them in a list? You don’t, and nor does Spike, which is why we’ve baked Tasks & To-Do Lists right into your Inbox. 

Tasks can be created for you or somebody else and tracked in real-time through Open, In Progress, and Done stages, so you know exactly how each job is coming along – and there’s a Stuck stage too because sometimes things just don’t go to plan. Tasks can be pinned to the top of your Inbox or snoozed for a later time to keep you on track without breaking your flow. 

Email client search functions are notoriously bad, pulling up thread upon thread with no indication of why or how it relates to what you searched for. Well, not anymore! Spike’s email search lets you see conversations, contacts, files, and more all on a single screen when searching with a keyword. 

Also, with customizable tags and the ability to “star” certain emails, you’ll never lose sight of what’s important again. Knowing that most conversations happen with people rather than per topic, Spike’s Super Search also enables you to type or click a contact’s name and bring up all the related files, sent and received messages, and more. 

Spike gives you the power to start or join a meeting from any email thread or team chat straight from your inbox. Built-in Video Meetings are perfect for quick 1:1 calls, team meetings, or client calls. Plus whether your client has Spike or not they will still be able to chat with you from an external link.

There is likely a folder sitting on your computer, cluttered with files with all manner of bizarre names. That’s right; we’re talking about the Downloads folder. Having to download and open every attachment is a little outdated, so Spike streamlines the process with advanced file previews inside your emails. Images, video, audio, GIFs, and more are all displayed front and center, so you don’t need to go digging through Downloads to see what’s important.

The best desktop apps for Gmail will include calendar features to help you manage your schedule. Spike, however, goes one step further and puts your calendar on the same page as your email—streamlining appointment making and giving you a practical overview of your schedule at all times. 

You can easily integrate calendars from multiple email addresses and manage them all simultaneously, meaning whether it’s personal appointments or company-wide meetings, they’re all under one roof—no more wasting time hopping between calendars or missing important deadlines. What’s more, Spike offers In-line RSVP, allowing you to respond to invites in seconds without even opening the message – and it’s all synced to your calendar. 

Security is super important for anyone using email. That’s why Spike has simplified email encryption to bring you all of the security you need without requiring a complex setup or certification. We use powerful AES256 encryption to keep your data and documents out of the hands of hackers. For Spike users, encrypted emails are displayed instantly. For non-Spike users, they’re just a click away! 

If you make a mistake (attached the wrong file again?), or work with teams across time zones and want to schedule an email to be sent at a normal hour for you recipient, you can access both features in two simple steps right from your workspace. No more looking around for the elusive scheduling or unsend an email with the unsend button in a cluttered toolbar. 

Managing a lot of Gmail accounts on Windows can get confusing. With Spike’s new Email Color Coding Feature, you’ll never get confused or overwhelmed again. Spike lets you customize each account with a specific color so you can easily differentiate between your email accounts and see what’s important in one glance.

No more worrying about sending an email from the wrong account, just choose a unique color to customize each inbox. The account’s custom color will appear on all messages, Groups, Notes, and Tasks — even in search results! It creates a great Gmail experience on Windows.

Many people love sending voice messages on iMessage, WhatsApp, and Trello, but why can’t you do that on your Gmail account? Now with Voice Messages on Spike, you get that feature for your Gmail account on Windows. Tap a button, start talking, stop, and then send it. It’s a quick way to send feedback asynchronously. Using Spike’s Voice Messages feature might even help you cut a few meetings out of your schedule.