Today Google released a major revision to the mobile version of Gmail for the iPhone and Android devices. Google says with this revision, they went back to the drawing board to redesign Gmail so performance is more consistent regardless of connection type. The update also allows for basic offline support, batch actions (i.e. archiving multiple conversations), and lays the foundation for future updates.

Google has improved the speed of archiving messages on the phones by caching mail on the phone itself. No waiting on a response from the remote server, this is made possible via database storage on the iPhone and mobile Google Gears for Android powered phones. The same technique also applies to staring important messages.

More details about the changes to Gmail for iPhone and Android can be found on Google's Official Gmail Blog, or simply goto gmail.com from your phone. The updates are currently only available to English users.