Upcoming Gmail client 'Mailbox' turns emails into a to-do list

Source: Orchestra

Boasting a sleek UI reminiscent of popular to-do app Clear, Orchestra's Mailbox overlays a minimalistic design on top of a powerful set of gesture-based controls to create what the firm calls a modernized experience.

The UI takes design cues from other email apps, but the new client is arguably more full-featured as it supports advanced functions like push mail.

From the Mailbox website:

Designed 30 years ago, traditional email transmission is clunky and slow. To make delivery as fast as possible, Mailbox checks your email from the cloud, then delivers it to your phone securely. You can even get push notifications for new messages.

When the app first opens, users are met with a single list of scrollable emails which can be "checked" as read or deleted by swiping right. The to-do feature comes in by swiping left on a message, which brings up a window of choices allowing users to select when they want to respond or read the email. Once a message is "snoozed," it disappears from the inbox only to return automatically at the specified time. Options range from "Later Today" to "Sometime," including a selection that will return an email on specific date.

Other notable features include threaded conversations organized in the style of an instant messaging client, rearrangement of the email list and the ability to take photos for attachment in-app.

A brief video highlights some of the app's major features:

The app is set to launch in the App Store sometime in 2013 .