Zimbra conquers the final email frontier: Offline

Software startup Zimbra is boldly taking email where no email has gone before: offline. More specifically, the company's new Zimbra Desktop uses the magic of AJAX to allow users to use their email client even when an Internet connection is unavailable. Users can read emails stored in a local cache and even write replies--which will be sent once a connection is available. It's such a simple idea that you almost have to wonder why it hasn't been done before. While Zimbra Desktop is currently in alpha, a beta due this summer will add POP and IMAP compatibility. The final 5.0 release of Zimbra Desktop will include all of the full offline capabilities. Keeping in mind related technologies like Adobe's Apollo, it looks like the recent Web 2.0 trend might be finally finding it's way back to the desktop.

For more on Zimbra Desktop:
- see this CNET article