Can I change the font, background and formatting of the message?
Yes, Inbox.com allows you to not only set font, background and formatting of the message text, but also insert smileys, hyperlinks, bullets, subscripts and superscripts.
To compose a message with specially formatted text, click on the "New mail" button, switch to "Rich Text" mode by clicking on the "Rich Text" button.
To find out each button function, move your mouse over it to view the tooltip.