GW Mailbox vs Micro Focus Messenger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GW Mailbox
This app provides a streamlined interface for accessing GroupWise email, calendar, and contacts on iOS devices. It offers enhanced notifications and enterprise features beyond standard web access, allowing for efficient management of your professional communications and schedule.
- Combined email, calendar, and contacts
- Enhanced email notifications
- View, reply, forward, and move emails
- Compose new messages and appointments
- Search GroupWise address books
- View calendar events and accept/decline
- Search within folders
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GW Mailbox is a GroupWise email and calendar app for the iPhone and iPad. With this app you get a much better interface than Novell delivers by default through GroupWise WebAccess. This app gives you some of the enterprise features that you wouldn't get with simple POP/IMAP - like access to your Frequent Contacts and GroupWise address book. This app is designed to work with a Novell GroupWise email server. Novell GroupWise is an email server like Lotus Notes or Microsoft Exchange. If you do not have access to a Novell GroupWise email account, this app will not work for you. Your IT department should be able to provide you with the URL to your company's GroupWise WebAccess server. Key Features: • Combined email, calendar and contacts access all in one app • Uses iOS background processing to provide faster, more secure notifications View emails • View items in your GroupWise mailbox and other folders, including shared folders • View, delete, reply and forward messages • Move items between folders • Attached documents are viewable through the GroupWise document converter, or they can be downloaded to view with other apps on your device Compose • Compose new email, appointments, tasks and notes • Add attachments to new emails • Search your GroupWise address books to select contacts when composing an email View calendar events • View your GroupWise calendar with one tap in either day, week or month view • View an item's properties to see if an appointment has been accepted, an email has been viewed, etc. • Accept or decline appointments, tasks and notes View contacts • Easily search all of your GroupWise address books including Frequent Contacts and your GroupWise System Address Book • View a contact's details including phone number, email address and physical address • One tap to use your iPhone to call a contact • Email a contact using GW Mailbox or the iOS Mail app • Create an appointment for a contact New, advanced email notifications • Better security • Control how often mailbox is checked • Banner notifications Search in your folders • Search in any of your GroupWise folders Notice: GW Mailbox uses GroupWise WebAccess to get your email data. If your GroupWise administrator has not made GroupWise WebAccess available to you, GW Mailbox will not work for you. We support Novell Access Manager. But if your company uses a different proxy server, then GW Mailbox will not work. GW Mailbox requires an active internet connection. Support: iOS: This app requires iOS 9 or later. Devices: GW Mailbox works with your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, and requires an internet connection to work. GroupWise: GW Mailbox has been tested to work with GroupWise 18, GroupWise 2014 R2, GroupWise 2014, GroupWise 2012, GroupWise 8, GroupWise 7 and GroupWise 6.5. Note: GW Mailbox requires a subscription Terms and Conditions: http://ghostpattern.com/Ghost_Pattern/Terms_And_Conditions.html Please feel free to send us an email with any questions or comments that you may have. If you think you see a bug in the app, please send us an email! support@ghostpattern.com
Micro Focus Messenger
Secure, cross-platform instant messaging for businesses. Connect with coworkers instantly and securely from any device, leveraging your existing on-premise system. Features include simultaneous connections and integrated presence information.
- Cross-platform messaging
- Secure SSL encryption
- Simultaneous device connections
- Integrated presence status
- Admin-managed conversation history
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Your business knows no bounds, and your instant messaging solution shouldn't either. From desktop to mobile, Micro Focus Messenger gives you a cross-platform, business-class instant messaging system that gives you security, and takes the risk out of using IM in the workplace. By connecting this mobile app to your existing Micro Focus Messenger 3.0+ system, Micro Focus Messenger uses your existing mobile data or wifi connection to instantly and securely communicate with co-workers -- no matter where they are! * No Hidden Cost - Mobile apps are included in your Micro Focus Messenger purchase or entitlement. * Simultaneous connections - You can be logged into Messenger on mobile, desktop, and tablet at the same time! Received messages will appear on any device where you're logged in. * Safe, Quick, Secure - SSL encrypted messages are instantly delivered to devices by your own secure on-premise Micro Focus Messenger system, and conversation history can be managed by admins and users. * Integrated - Connects to other Micro Focus products (like GroupWise) to show online presence (Online, Busy, Away, Idle, etc.), and allow for cross-functionality. To use this app, your organization must have a Micro Focus Messenger system deployed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: GW Mailbox at 4.4 against Micro Focus Messenger's 3.0. GW Mailbox also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 2). Micro Focus Messenger's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (50% vs 40%). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. GW Mailbox sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Micro Focus Messenger asks for nothing beyond the download.
GW Mailbox holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GW Mailbox has 2.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 40% of GW Mailbox's written reviews are positive against 50% of Micro Focus Messenger's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
GW Mailbox ships an update every 3 weeks, Micro Focus Messenger every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GW Mailbox | Micro Focus Messenger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (2.2K ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ghost Pattern Software | OpenText |
Customer experience
GW Mailbox
Micro Focus Messenger
In-app purchases
GW Mailbox
- GW Mailbox Month Subscription$1.491 Month
- GW Mailbox Year Subscription$13.491 Year
Micro Focus Messenger
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is GW Mailbox free?
Is Micro Focus Messenger free?
Which has better reviews, GW Mailbox or Micro Focus Messenger?
Do GW Mailbox or Micro Focus Messenger have ads?
Which is updated more often, GW Mailbox or Micro Focus Messenger?
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