Sorry to post two Gmail tools in a row, but google offline is awesome.  After being gone on a week of vacation and having hundreds of e-mails to sift through, I was able to connect my Laptop to the internet, check my e-mail, and then sift through them offline while on the airplane ride home.  Back on the ground, I just re-connect to the internet and it sends all my replies, syncs all the messages I deleted, labeled, and archived, and my inbox is clean again!  I love being productive in the air!

To Setup Gmail offline, first download the app for chrome on the webstore. Now, when you open a new tab, a blue gmail icon will appear on the apps tab.  Click it, and it will ask you to authorize gmail offline.  Once this is done, you're ready to go.  A tip: When offline, if you open a new tab in chrome the grayed out icons won't work, bu the blue ones will!  For Docs and calendar, you can enable offline use by clicking the gear icon and then clicking "offline".

Sure, you could check your email on your smartphone, which prob. downloaded your messages, but sometimes it's nice to read and compose replies on a real computer!