Road warriors rejoice, Google has beefed up the engine that powers the mobile version of GMail. The rollout begins today, though only for users of the English version. If that includes you, make sure your iPod Touch or iPhone is running firmware version 2.2.1 or later or you'll still see the old version. Android users won't have any such concerns.

A number of slick new features have been added, including the "floaty bar" which follows you as you scroll through your inbox and provides quick access to archiving, deleting, and marking options. Say goodbye to repetitive scrolling when applying actions to multiple messages! The search bar has also been moved to the top of the interface to provide easier access.

Message display has been cleaned up a bit and the improved back end will help make coping with crummy network connections a bit less bothersome. The new engine - which leverages HTML5, Gears, and more aggressive cahcing - will also make it easier for Google to deploy new features and provide further performance increases in the future.

[via Google Mobile Blog]