What Makes Gmail so Superior?

[TalonStrike]

I had a poll a while ago asking which email provider people used and Gmail won pretty handily. Why? What makes that so great? Does it have better performance? Better interface? Also, doesn't Google store the content of your emails? I don't want that.

 

[Berryracer]

Gmail makes it very easy to find emails, just type in any of the words that you think are in the content of the email and it finds it right away.

secondly, when having a gmail account, you can sign in to YouTube with it, you can add RSS feeds for reading later be it on a mobile device or on your computer, you can make a website and have a free domain with your Gmail, you can use google Talk, you can purchase items using your google account in a secure method, and the possibilities are endless.

that's why it always comes up on no. 1 in free web based email comparisons

 

[pyonir]

For me, it's free, performs better than yahoo, hotmail or any other well known free web based service I've encountered, catches SPAM better than those stated above and when it came out, I just started using it and got used to it. I despise the newest layout for Yahoo, which would probably be my second choice and hotmail will ever be an option for me again.

From my experience it's also the most secure of the major web based services (if they can really be "secure"). I like that I can look and see the IPs that have been used to log in.

So, cost, ease of use and layout are the most important factors for me and why I chose it. I couldn't care less about google "storing" content or using content to generate keywords...since if anyone really wants to get into an email account (read: the government), they will anyway.

 

[Dulanic]

The above mentioned things. Also, I used to use Yahoo but they STILL don't have push ability to my phone email unless I use their shitty app. Not to mention the odds they go bankrupt are growing every day.

 

[lxskllr]

For me, it's free, performs better than yahoo, hotmail or any other well known free web based service I've encountered, catches SPAM better than those stated above and when it came out, I just started using it and got used to it. I despise the newest layout for Yahoo, which would probably be my second choice and hotmail will ever be an option for me again.

From my experience it's also the most secure of the major web based services (if they can really be "secure"). I like that I can look and see the IPs that have been used to log in.

So, cost, ease of use and layout are the most important factors for me and why I chose it. I couldn't care less about google "storing" content or using content to generate keywords...since if anyone really wants to get into an email account (read: the government), they will anyway.

Gmail works, and the anti-spam is better than most. Free email isn't secure, because it isn't free. You're trading privacy and security for use of the email service. Lavabit has server side encryption(for a fee) that should keep the government out. You can also run your own email with encryption. The US government is out of control, and imo it's prudent to consider that when choosing services.

 

[kmmatney]

For me, Gmail is simply less of a pain to use compared to Yahoo and Hotmail, at least when accessing through the web. I have a business account with Yahoo that is particularly a pain to use. I tend to read me Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo email all thorugh my phone or iPad, as its just a lot easier that way. When used that way, I would rate them all the same.

 

[nickbits]

search, no bloat, good spam filter

and it used to be gmail was offering 2gb of space while others were offering 2mb

 

[gmaster456]

Better search, and a great spam filter. That's about it.

 

[corkyg]

I would never consider it superior - just cheap and adequate.

 

[sathyan]

For me, the killer feature is "Labels" rather than folders. Having a single message assigned to multiple labels is very useful

 

[Sid59]

imap and stars

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

For me, it works adequately, and it's the first one I signed up for. No real reason to change, so I don't.

 

[OnePingOnly]

Free IMAP. Oh, and 8GB storage, free.

 

[Lemon law]

Just my personal opinion, even if my computer totally crashes, i can get my google emails back without losing them. And even better yet, I can get totally free VOIP long distance calling to the USA and Canada too.

Maybe I can find a better payware site for email, but still, the way I use my gmail does not pose significant computer risks for me.

 

[notposting]

Dunno. I started with Hotmail I think first, then Yahoo, back to Hotmail, then Gmail. Nowadays, my mail either goes to Windows Live Mail on the laptop and desktop, or to my Windows Phone. I rarely use the web interface on any of them now. I use the Hotmail one the most to check my wife's email for her, the sweep functions and latest mailing functions are pretty nice. Great spam filter too.

Oh and it can sort too. You would think someone at Google could figure out that little feature but I guess not. But yeah...I don't even care about the web interfaces anymore.

edit: all of the email clients are set to leave mail on the servers as well as download it all to computer/phone. So either way I can search for anything from any of the accounts.

 

[Kaido]

Great search - every email at your fingertips

Labels - tag things multiple times

 

[corkyg]

Everything cited above is present for duty with Eudora Pro - even labels. Furthermore, I can copy its email files from one machine to another, and it can be made to run from a removable drive.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Everything cited above is present for duty with Eudora Pro - even labels. Furthermore, I can copy its email files from one machine to another, and it can be made to run from a removable drive.

Are there any other reasons I should use an email client for my personal email rather than the GMail web client?

 

[lxskllr]

Are there any other reasons I should use an email client for my personal email rather than the GMail web client?

You have access to your mail without network access.

 

[mammador]

to me all IMAP e-mail clients are equal, I see no difference in functionality between any of the big IMAP/web-based e-mail clients. GMail has Youtube log-in similarities as obviously Google owns Youtube, but to me it's no issue. I actually have 2 Gmails (one personal, one for work) and 1 Yahoos.

 

[mammador]

Free IMAP. Oh, and 8GB storage, free.

Yahoo and Hotmail are not free? And aren't all web-based e-mail clients IMAP by definition?

 

[lxskllr]

And aren't all web-based e-mail clients IMAP by definition?

No, you can use POP with them.