Mozilla Messaging Launches To Fix Email - Will It Be Enough?

The non-profit Mozilla Foundation has spun off their email application development into a new entity named Mozilla Messaging. The first goal of the new group will be the development and (late 2008) release of Thunderbird 3.

CEO David Ascher has written about the journey which he called "MailCo" until today. There's also a FAQ with information about the group and what the new product will include. As for the product release, "Thunderbird 3 will include calendaring, better search, and better overall user experience, much like Firefox 3."

With more people using wireless devices, it will be critical for Thunderbird to integrate with these devices. Make it easy for the average Internet user to keep their mail current no matter how it's accessed. This is why I believe that Zimbra is so powerful. With their new desktop client, the actual email is left on the server and you can access it on the desktop, on the Web, on your mobile, etc.

I would hope that the calendar can keep an online, shareable calendar updated as well. And will we see some of the social, trust features of Xobni integrated into Thunderbird 3? What suggestions do you have for the team?