Zenbe Comes Out Of Beta With Social Communication Platform

Zenbe, a social e-mail aggregator, is now out of beta and available to everyone. With Zenbe, users can import existing e-mail accounts (including Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and AOL Mail) into a single web-based inbox, and view messages by conversation or by person, or by favorite people, in views similar to how social networks present communication streams. The service is a bit slow and seems to contain a few minor bugs, but all in all it’s impressive, not in the least because of its looks.

Zenbe, besides sporting a beautiful interface, is a true platform play that has much more to offer than just e-mail. The app integrates social media such as Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to manage those channels within their e-mail environment. You also get fully integrated calendar, task list, and address book capabilities, easily accessible through an ever-present sidebar.

Another big improvement over regular e-mail is ZenPages, which boasts collaboration features that can help multiple people (whether in a personal or professional environment) keep track of calendars, project status, the latest communications and responsibilities around a given topic.

NYC-based Zenbe also plans to allow more third-party apps onto these pages, including ones that have direct access to users’ e-mails.

On a sidenote: Orgoo once promised to deliver a similar service, but the startup seems to have fallen from the face of the earth. If you’re looking for alternatives, you might want to check out Jubii and Fuser, although they don’t offer the same social network integration Zenbe does.