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Our plans for Thunderbird on Android (blog.thunderbird.net)

724 points by HieronymusBosch · 1552 days ago · 281 comments on HN

Article summary

Thunderbird, a leading open-source email client, is partnering with K-9 Mail, a popular open-source Android email app, to create a seamless email experience across platforms. K-9 Mail will eventually transform into Thunderbird on Android, with the goal of providing a powerful, privacy-respecting email experience. The collaboration aims to bring the shared values of both projects, including being open-source, respecting users, and providing a rich feature set. The project is community-funded and welcomes donations to support its development.

Main themes

  • Thunderbird and K-9 Mail partnership
  • email client relevance
  • open-source and community funding
  • performance and optimization
  • mobile email experience
  • competition with web-based email services
  • alternative email clients
  • Google's policies and open-source development
  • seamless cross-platform experience
  • privacy and security

What commenters say

  • Some users are excited about the partnership between Thunderbird and K-9 Mail, seeing it as a great opportunity for a seamless email experience across platforms.
  • Others are concerned that Thunderbird's focus on mobile may divert attention from its desktop version, which is already struggling to keep up with other email clients.
  • There is a debate about the relevance of email clients in general, with some arguing that they are a dying category due to the rise of web-based email services.
  • The performance and optimization of Thunderbird are criticized by some users, who point out that it can be slow and struggle with large mailboxes.
  • Some users prefer alternative email clients, such as FairEmail, which they find to be more feature-rich and better performing than K-9 Mail.
  • The importance of open-source and community-funded projects is highlighted, with some users appreciating the transparency and customizability they offer.
  • There are differing opinions on the impact of Google's policies on the development of open-source email apps, with some seeing it as a challenge and others as a reason to support these projects.