Today I will be reviewing three popular web emails:
GMail BETA, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail
GMail
Minimum Requirements: Internet Explorer 4(HTML Version)
Disk Space: 2619MB and counting
POP mail: Available
Maximum size for attachment: 10MB
The email service by Google. Largest disk space of free emails on the internet, even larger than the paid email services. If you are running on IE 5.5 and above, you will be able to view the email service in the Javascript version. The Java version combines the same emails together, even though the title may have changed. This enables easy viewing and tracking of what you sent out. There is also a special feature: a photo organizer, to send several pictures with your email. Though, you have to download the program. The Anti-Spam works well- your spam mails will be sent to the Spam folder. Tired of constantly checking your email? GMail comes with the GMail notifier. A program that can be downloaded and placed in your taskbar, so it checks your GMail regularly. You can also download a GMail shell extension which will appear on your computer’s My Computer or Windows Explorer as a Hard Drive so as to store files in your GMail by just dragging the files in. This application is down for the time being as Google has just changed the way to log in to GMail again. There is one disadvantage using GMail though, you are not able to send or receive executable files(*.exe). But with the GMail shell extension, you will be able to store the executable files on your GMail. GMail is still in its Beta stage, so sign-up is still restricted to invitation by already GMail users. But fret not, ask anyone who has GMail, they will gladly send you the invitation, as Google has given each user invitations that will last for a long time. No advertisements.
Rating: 5 stars *****
Yahoo! Mail
Minimum Requirements: Internet Explorer 4
Disk Space: 1000MB
POP mail: Available
Maximum size for attachment: 10MB
Fast and easy to use. Everything that is needed is laid out properly for you to see. Powerful Anti-Spam. All your spam mails will be directed to one folder: Bulk Mail. And you do not even have to go the folder itself to clear the unwanted mails. Just click [Empty] beside the Bulk Mail link at the sidebar and you have cleared the unwanted spam mails. And why should we let spam mails affect our space limit? Not that we cared of with such a large email, but spam mails in the Bulk Mail folder does not count to the total disk space used. There is no independent application to check your email contantly though, but if you are using Yahoo! Messenger, it will do the job. Yahoo! Photomail integrates sending pictures with your Yahoo! Mail into Internet Explorer. When composing emails, just click [Insert Photos]. The pictures only stays for a limited period though, as it is stored on the Photomail server, and does not count towards the disk space of the sender or the recipent. The space limit for each picture is 5MB and the total limit is 10MB for the free users. Up to a total of 300 can be sent each time. The Yahoo! Mail does not support IE 7 beta though, which does not really matter to majority of users. There is also a limited number of emails blocked as I found out. Some advertisements, not much disruption though.
Rating: 4.8 stars *****
Hotmail
Minimum Requirements: Internet Explorer 4
Disk Space: 25MB (USA:250MB)
POP mail: Unavailable, but integrated with Outlook Express
Unfriendly interface. Small fonts, advertisements everywhere. Slow loading occasionally. The smallest of the three emails reviewed. Anti-Spam available. Not much to say about this email, just that it is probably the longest history email of the three and still stuck at 25MB for international users and 250MB for United States users. Not recommended. If you are thinking of signing up to use MSN Messenger, you can sign up for .NET passport using other emails as well. Junk this out of your selection!
Rating: 2.5 stars **
