New Gmail feature: Priority inbox sorts important emails - Video

Gmail users now have Priority Mail, or at least some of them do. The latest Gmail feature started rolling out Tuesday morning to help users sort out what's important in their email inbox. Look for the 'New! Priority Inbox' link at the top right of your inbox when you log in as it rolls out in Beta over the next week or so.

The Gmail Blog says the Priority Mail feature is 'an experimental new way of taking on information overload in Gmail.'

It's a filter, of sorts, and now you can funnel your spam, regular mail and VIP mail to three different in boxes. Which, for someone who is really social or extremely important, might come in handy. Or it might be one more place to look on a busy morning.

What determines which emails go to the Priority Box?

Here's the scoop from Gmail: "As messages come in, Gmail automatically flags some of them as important. Gmail uses a variety of signals to predict which messages are important, including the people you email most and which messages you open and reply to." There will be buttons that you can manually click to mark a conversation important...or not...to help Gmail get a better feel for what's important to you.

The addition of the Gmail priority inbox comes on the heels of another new feature -- Google Voice. It allows users to make phone calls right from their Gmail page, resulting more than 1 million calls made on the first day of service. Also new, a more noticeable "Compose Mail"  button that still looks awkward to this Gmail user.

Check out how Priority Mail on Gmail works in the video below. Is this a valuable added feature? Time will tell, but this user thinks more emails belong in spam than in a priority box.