Google To Hand Out Inbox Invites During 'InboxHappyHour'

If you’re looking to try out Google’s new Inbox email service, the right time may be today: The company is planning to hand out a number of invites to users between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST. All users need to do is email Google at inbox@google.com between those hours to get an invite by 8 p.m. EST.

The new service from Google aims to be a new take on the way users interact with their emails on a day-to-day basis. Google was quick to say in October that Inbox was “not Gmail,” though it was developed by the same team behind Google’s first foray into email.

Unlike Gmail and a number of other webmail clients, Google’s attempt to transform email can be likened more to a social news feed that groups relevant emails automatically based on importance. It also pulls out the important parts of an email so it’s not necessary to actually open an email to get an address, attachment or flight information.

Borrowing features from a number of third-party apps and plug-ins such as MailBox and Boomberang, Inbox can also “snooze” emails, allowing them to come back to the top of the email pile at a time that is more convenient for the user.

The service has been accepting users on a limited basis through an invite system, much like the launch of Gmail in 2004. It is currently available for invited users using Google Android and Apple iOS smartphones. Desktop users can use Inbox through the Chrome browser.