- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP
- Date added: April 28, 2009
- Total Downloads: 12,060
- Downloads last week: 69
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 22 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Jessica Dolcourt on May 11, 2009
Yahoo's Zimbra Desktop is a strange beast. Chiefly intended for pre-existing users of Zimbra's business services, or those who access Zimbra's hosted server through the open-source community, the offline, multiplatform, open source Zimbra Desktop also has some intriguing uses for the rest of us. However, many features are acutely in beta. This makes its position as a standalone app precarious, as it does this review--pre-existing Zimbra fellows get a much richer feature set added to what is their chief e-mail in-box. For them, the emphasis on collaborating wiki documents, uploading files, and sharing entire subsets of the in-box--like address books and message folders--gives the application its value. Those outside the server's glow will find a half-enabled app still nibbled by bugs.
Most will want to try Zimbra Desktop for its capability to manage multiple e-mail accounts from its single in-box. It will sync contacts and calendars from Yahoo Mail and Gmail, though a syncing dilemma with Gmail currently restricts the buddy list to those you've added by hand. Likewise, Gmail's labels won't synchronize with Zimbra tags in this build. Hotmail is another Web mail service supported with caveats. It only works for those with premium Plus accounts, or those who have been grandfathered in from the Outlook Express days. Other IMAP and POP services are eligible for Zimbra's in-box panoply.
The e-mail accounts that do make it into Zimbra without a hitch are treated with an overarching search bar, the ability to tag messages, and a feature that clusters conversations with the same subject line. Unlike Gmail, Zimbra Desktop won't thread conversations into one e-mail entry, but it will list previous conversations with the same subject line beneath the latest message.
Also open to everyone are Zimbra Desktop's extremely simple wiki documents, which you can create, but can't easily share with others if you don't engage Zimbra's server. In previous tests, stability became an issue when running a spreadsheet and minimized applications. While the portrait isn't exactly rosy, the adventurous can still benefit from the multi in-box management tools, as Zimbra broadens its appeal and its promise to non-Zimbra Server users.
Publisher's description
From Yahoo :Ever forget about an important message in your other e-mail accounts? Can't find a message in the account right in front of you? Zimbra Desktop is the next-generation email application that makes e-mail easy again. Get e-mail, contacts, and calendar all in one application. Easily set up Zimbra, Yahoo. Mail Plus, AOL and Gmail email accounts with the Account Wizard. Any POP or IMAP email account can be added to Zimbra Desktop, there's no limit to the size of your email storage, and Zimbra Desktop works online and offline.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 2.9 stars out of 22 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 5 user reviewsSee all 5 user reviews
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Zimbra Desktop 1.0
"Works well as a backup to Yahoo"
Pros: After Yahoo mail flaked out a few days ago for hours I decided to make a backup of my Yahoo emails on my computer. Does a good job of syncing once you get the hang of it and read the help file.
Cons: Font too small on Desktop. Don't know how to resize it. Could use a way to select multiple messages without clicking on each one.
Summary: Nice, efficient, backup for Yahoo webmail. Now I don't have to fret about my receipts and registration numbers disappearing or becoming inaccessible.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Zimbra Desktop 1.0
"Meh. Not ready for mass consumption."
Pros: More fully-featured and better looking than Thunderbird/Lightning. Syncs with Google Contacts and Calendar.
Cons: Can't sync GCal or Contacts without also syncing Gmail inbox.
Summary: I want the ability to turn off Gmail sync,while still syncing Calendar and Contacts. As the Editor's review says, probably best for Zimbra enterprise users. I'll stick with Outlook.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Zimbra Desktop 1.0
"Unstable Connection to Yahoo's own server!!!"
Pros: Familiar look for Yahoo! Mail users, if that's your thing.
Cons: Persistent authentication failure every time messages are to be sent/received. Have to keep refreshing by going to the account setting page.
Summary: For an email client to persistently fail connecting to its own namesake server, it really is ridiculous. TO have to refresh connection via account setting every time it checks for incoming mail is a pain. Red indicator indicating authentication fa... read more >>
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Version: Zimbra Desktop 1.0
"Great, links yahoo and hotmail available offline."
Pros: Very handy concept, love the offline capability for times when internet access is impossible or hit and miss.
Cons: Contacts - importing seems to duplicate and very hard to find these duplicates and sort the contacts properly. Also files contact names under strange listings like only family names or no name at all. Obviously needs work.
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1 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Version: Zimbra Desktop 1.0
Pros: It works well.
Cons: It works well.
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