Innovative, solid and free e-mail service (gmail.google.com)

Member Name: cognition

Product:	gmail.google.com
Date:	20/11/08 (172 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free, large storage space

Disadvantages: Maximum 20Mb attachements in any one outgoing e-mail

When Gmail was initially introduced in 2004 there was an aura of exclusivity to it. You could only obtain an account by invitation, although as soon as you had acquired an account, you were able to invite other users. As far as I can remember, the unique selling point at the time that Gmail started was a 1Gb of space for your e-mails for free. This has since risen to 7.2Gb, and is a continuously rising number (you literally get a bit more of storage space every day, 354kb to be exact!) You also don't need an invitation to sign up any more, as of 2007. Interestingly, although Gmail has been around for almost five years, it is still in a Beta phase.

When I signed up for Gmail back in 2004, it was the storage that appealed to me, but there has since been some major innovations, and it has reaced a point where I can not imagine my life without Gmail. There is the automatic cataloging of messages that belong to each other in threads, so that you never lose track of a conversation or the context of a message. There is also the integrated live chat function, which also supports webcams and audio conversations, much like the chat functionality in MSN. You will need to download and install an additional program for the webcam and audio chat functions to work. This is, however, fast and effortless. The search functionality is cleverly integrated, and allows you to track down whichever e-mail you are looking for based on whatever information you can remember about it (such as name of sender, date, words in subject line or body of message, words that are included, words that aren't included, etc).

Gmail is free, and when I signed up for Gmail it was the promise of large storage space for my e-mails for free that hooked me. Since then I have become so accustomed to Gmail and its functions that I can't imagine ever going back to a "normal" e-mail service. I hope Gmail stays free forever, but I have become so accustomed to Gmail that I would now be willing to pay for the service Gmail offers.

Summary: I would be willing to pay for this, but it's free!