The development teams of Thunderbird and K-9 Mail have announced the merger of their projects. The K-9 Mail email client will be renamed to 'Thunderbird for Android' and will begin operating under the new brand. The Thunderbird project has long considered the possibility of creating a version for mobile devices, but after discussions, it was concluded that it makes no sense to spread resources thin and perform duplicate work when they can join efforts with an existing similar open project. For K-9 Mail, joining Thunderbird is advantageous in terms of gaining additional resources, expanding the user base, and accelerating development pace.
The decision to merge was facilitated by the similar goals and visions of both projects regarding what a modern mobile email application should entail. Both projects are also meticulous about ensuring privacy, adhere to open standards, and evolve using an open development process.
Before the first release under the new name, there are plans to align the appearance and functionality of K-9 Mail with the design and features of the desktop version of Thunderbird. Among the planned enhancements for K-9 Mail are the implementation of an auto-configuration system for accounts like in Thunderbird, improved management of email folders, integration of message filtering support, and enabling synchronization between the mobile and desktop versions of Thunderbird.
Christian Ketterer, the lead and primary developer of the K-9 Mail project, is now employed at MZLA Technologies Corporation, which oversees the development of Thunderbird, and will continue working on the K-9 Mail code full-time. For existing K-9 Mail users, aside from the name change and new features, nothing will change. Thunderbird users will gain access to a mobile client that will be synchronized and closely aligned in functionality with the desktop version. As for the Thunderbird version for desktop systems, it will continue to evolve unchanged and with the use of previous technologies.
Source: opennet.ru
