Dear PropellerHeads: So my friend told me I had to try out the new Gmail. My phone and tablet have the most recent version but it looks the same. What gives?

A: You don't know about the new Gmail? All the cool kids are doing it. The reason your screen and your friend's don't look the same is because they were probably referring to Google's newest email client, Inbox (inbox.google.com).

Inbox isn't actually a new version of Gmail (although a revamped mobile version was released recently), it's a new product that it is currently in its beta phase that's a separate program altogether. Since it's in beta, your friend received an invitation from a current user. If you want to use Inbox, you'll need an invitation in order to sign up as well.

Inbox is a restructured email approach that Google has borrowed from other popular apps, but its goal is to eliminate a 3rd party app as an email client for people that use those apps. So, while you use your current Gmail account to login (or you have to create one), it's a new look and new feel, but once you learn it on one device (phone/tablet/PC), you'll know how to navigate it on all of them.

Inbox uses Bundles to group your emails into groups automatically, reducing the need to add labels or folders to your email client. General Bundles like Finance, Social, and Forums weed through a lot of the sorting for you. When you tap/click on a Bundle, it expands to show messages grouped by receipt date similar to Outlook (you can also group by sender). Messages that don't appear to fall into a Bundle get held out individually by date, meaning that most person-to-person notes get seen easily.

You can help adjust the Bundles by adding/removing emails to them as you go. For those of you that are a "keep your iTunes account organized by alphabetically according to genre and then by artists birthday" type of person, you can move over your existing Labels/Folders etc. so you can quickly find your confirmation email for that vintage Nintendo Power 1998 Issue #1 you got on eBay last week.

Some other things of note on Inbox, it encourages you to not delete emails (even spam). Instead, a swipe to the right indicates the email is "Done" and removes it from view. Swiping to the left lets you "Snooze" the email to yourself at a time that's convenient for a reminder (like an email you get at lunch to remind you to pick up milk on the way home tonight). You can send the reminders for later this day or just the vague "Someday." Additional options to Pin an email so it never gets buried and synching it with your Google Calendar make it easier to keep on top of things on the fly.

What this creates is a shift in behavior for your emails to be filed away, regardless of importance, rather than thrown in the trash. The grouped layout and ability to quickly hide or remind yourself about and email means that doing so won't result in a cluttered inbox. Instead you get a clean layout and never have to worry about losing an email that seemed unimportant at the time, but you end up needing down the road.

Inbox doesn't have a lot of changes that are revolutionary. It actually borrows heavily from popular competitors Mailbox (mailboxapp.com), Outlook (outlook.com), and Boxer (getboxer.com); all of which are worth a look if you're looking for a new email program. It does execute pretty well and really pays off with a smooth integration for other Google products currently used by millions.

Hopefully you can get hooked up with one of the cool kids to get an invitation. They're easy to find these days, with their Pacman Video Games and Dan Fogleberg Rock n' Roll. What? That's not what the cool kids are doing? OK, it's what I'm doing, but I already have my invitation to Inbox, how about you? Buuuuuurrrrnnnn...

When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.