Entered CNET Catalog: 07/09/2004
SKU: SERVGOOGLEGMAIL
Manufacturer: Google
Product summary
The good: Has 2.8GB of mail storage; allows fast, easy searching; tracks message threads; includes built-in chatting; supports Safari.
The bad: Spam filters need work; text ads in messages; minimal support options.
The bottom line: If you don't mind Google's computers scanning your e-mail messages, then you'll come to appreciate the unique features of Gmail.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/09/2004
Google's introduction of the Gmail Beta--a free Web-mail service--has gotten the company a lot of attention, not all of it positive. Gmail's 1GB of mail storage several years ago sent Yahoo Mail and Hotmail scrambling to keep up. Now that Gmail offers 2GB, however, Yahoo Mail offers unlimited storage. And Gmail's controversial scheme of scanning your e-mail messages to deliver targeted text ads has put some privacy groups on alert.
Signing up for Gmail requires providing a name, a login, a password, and a security question, then viewing a one-page description of the service. All Web-mail sign-ups should be this simple.
At first glance, Gmail looks like most other Web-mail services, but it offers some clever touches that turn normal Web-mail conventions on their ear. For instance, instead of organizing messages by creating new folders, Gmail lets you assign multiple labels to each message--such as work, important, or follow-up needed--and leave them in your in-box.
Rather than treating messages as discrete bits of information, Gmail groups them as conversations, so you can always go back and explore the message thread to see what someone else said without hunting through old e-mail in your in-box. When you receive a new message in the thread, the whole thread moves to the top of your in-box. Each e-mail thread in your in-box appears as a single e-mail. No longer will you have 30 messages, one after the other and all with the same subject line, clogging your in-box as a group of your friends debate which bar to go to after work.
With Gmail, you need never throw anything out. Just archive messages to move them out of your in-box. They'll wait patiently in the depths of Gmail's gig of free storage, yet they can still be easily found via searches. If you are worried about old e-mail messages coming back to bite you, rest assured that, though Google encourages archiving, Gmail does let you permanently delete messages--it just takes an extra click.
Not surprisingly, Gmail's e-mail search tools are second to none. You can search for messages by sender, recipient, subject, text, file attachment, or date; you can look by label or search all of your mail, including the spam and trash bins. Just as easy is importing addresses to your Gmail account. It was even faster than with Yahoo Mail.
Gmail offers a host of attractive features, such as built-in instant messaging, POP3 access, and mobile options. If someone sends you an MP3 file, Gmail will pop up a discrete audio player so you can listen immediately. It even detects addresses written in your e-mail messages and then makes a suggestion to map them in Google Maps. We expect to see more integration with other services, such as Google Calendar, added in the future.
The most controversial aspect of Gmail is its advertising model. Instead of sandwiching ads around your in-box, Gmail scans the content of incoming messages and inserts relevant text ads and site links alongside them, which can lead to some interesting juxtapositions. For example, a newsletter from Blockbuster sent to our test account was accompanied by a text ad for competitor Netflix; a piece of Nigerian 419 scam e-mail was accompanied by a link to the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center. Not all messages have ads; Google's FAQ page says the service won't insert ads or links to mail containing "catastrophic news." (Our tests tend to bear this out.)
One area that needs improvement is Gmail's spam filter, which stopped only about a third of the sample spam we forwarded to our account. There's no way to change spam settings or set up lists of blocked or approved senders, yet, either, though you can click buttons to tell Gmail when it has missed spam or trapped a legit message by mistake.
Support options are similarly limited during the Gmail's beta testing: you can send feedback to Google, but it doesn't guarantee a response. We received a response to a question in just less than three weeks, which leads us to believe that Gmail support is in beta testing, too.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42out of 42 user reviews
Cons are outweighing the Pros right now!
Pros: Easy and quick setting up an account
Cons: My Gmail worked fine yesterday but has been "temporarily unavailable" for over five hours now. I have sent Gmail support emails from my hotmail account and no reply from them.
out of 42 user reviews
Quick, beautiful, free!
Pros: Everything works quickly and makes everyday communication (among other tasks) much more efficient.
Cons: That I didn't have it ten years ago!
out of 42 user reviews
So easy to use
Pros: Huge capacity
Cons: Integration with other Google apps
So, I thought I'd give GMail a try (or Googlemail as it is now).
Registration was a breeze, and before I knew it I was looking at a simple interface with 8 folders and 3 main buttons (Archive, report spam and delete). Adverts are non-intrusive. Just simple text and links, and thankfully no flash!!
I love the way it groups your conversations, and frankly as it stands now, 6Gb of storage is an obcene amount (I am currently using 1%!)
The only bugbear I have is it's intergration into other Google services. After signing up for mail, I went on and played with the other apps such as Google docs, Calendar, Reader etc. All great apps, but why oh why can't I attach a file from Google Docs when I'm sending an e-mail?? You have to save from docs to your PC and then upload from your PC to the mail attachment! This seems like such an obvious integration that I'm amazed it isn't there.
But, both apps are still showing as Beta, so I'll reserve final judgement until they're fully in production.
Apart from that, a fantastic free mail service.
out of 42 user reviews
who designed new gmail user interface should be fired
Pros: speed, other google staff with gmail account
Cons: not intuitive interface, no sorting by date, sender etc, away from conventional standards
Instead of offering more options, they offer less + complicated user interface, where for example conventional action buttons are hard to find, scattered all over the place (e.g. Reply button + Create new message) and stylled differently.
Settings have very few options.
For those positive things they did, it doesn't matter, becuase user gets frustrated before is able to take adventage of good stuff.
Someone from he street would do better job in design and funcionality With all resources google has, it is very disapointing to see this little beta Frankenstain. Worse interface of all emails. Thanks for reading.
What's wrong with those people?!
No sorting?
Grouping mail by conversation?
Very limited Settings and options?
No instruction how to use mail?
Totally inconsiderate,dull, imperceptive, quazi-geeky-let-me-design-something-different-because-Im-so special arghhHHH!!
Cant' wait to finish my business I created email for, and then bye bye gmail!
out of 42 user reviews
Excekently easy
Pros: Easiness & Simplicity
Cons: Less font style.
out of 42 user reviews
Very fast andeasy to use service
Pros: Loads of space, faster, Free POP3 Acceess
Cons: Bad spam filter
out of 42 user reviews
Hard to say. Some good features though.
Pros: Nice clean plain look.
Cons: I'm not so sure about links and text adds.
out of 42 user reviews
i will never use anything else
Pros: works great, no need to organize, lots of storage, tons of extra's tied to a gmail account
Cons: um... idk...
out of 42 user reviews
best web mail out there
Pros: easy to use,loads of storage,compatible with more borwsers than any other
Cons: not simple to print one message in a thread
My only issue with it is that when you have a thread of many messages and you want to print one is just not possible. You have to select it, and then choose "print selection". Not practical, sometimes you just want to print the one message with an address, or directions to take with you.
out of 42 user reviews
Fantastic service
Pros: Great and fast email service
Cons: Needs work on the calendar part
The calendar is OK. I wish they would improve on it a little and this is the only reason why I gave it a 9 instead of a solid 10.
If you choose Gmail, you won't be sorry.
out of 42 user reviews
Best e-mail service
Pros: Can use any e-mail client to access Gmail
Cons: No support, doesn't work well with IE
With Gmail, I can use any e-mail client of my choice, like Thunderbird or Outlook Express or Outlook to access all my Gmail accounts. For me, this is the only feature that matters.
The only exception I noted was Windows Live Desktop beta which allows me to access all my Windows Live accounts and Gmail accounts from a single interface. Very cool. Yahoo e-mail is totally useless for me as it does not allow free access from anything but a browser.
The spam filter on Gmail is way better than Windows Live. Out of 300-400 spam messages in a week, only 3-5 reach my inbox. On Windows Live, the percentage of spam reaching my inbox is about 30%. I cannot comment on Yahoo e-mail. I do not use it much since I cannot access it from any e-mail client.
Creating filters to apply lables automatically to messages is a great feature in Gmail.
I have two annoying issues with Gmail with IE:
a) If there is a firewall blocking all access to internet except port 80, somtimes I have to reload Gmail to make it work in IE.
b) The "More Actions" drop down box is fixed width in IE. If the width of label is more than the width of box, the label is not displayed completely. I have written to whatever support they have many times but no action.
out of 42 user reviews
Great email service
Pros: Everything, VERY FAST!!!
Cons: no subfolders
out of 42 user reviews
Best one out there!!
Pros: fast, simple, Google powered search, built in chat, little ads, and if using firefox there are many add-ons to cusomize gmail
Cons: no option for ajax
out of 42 user reviews
Better than Hotmail and Yahoo together
Pros: Fastest Web based Mail I've ever used, easy to use
Cons: Not real cons, but if any....maybe need more Opera support
out of 42 user reviews
Great first attempt
Pros: nice fresh interface, built in chat, fast
Cons: not consistant in terms of performance and speed
out of 42 user reviews
Easy to Use, Free and Spam FREE
Pros: Spam Free, Great Contacts Layout, Quick, Simple Interface
Cons: Not Accessible on most Phones
out of 42 user reviews
Brilliant!
Pros: Fast, efficient and good looking
Cons: No drag and drop and no inbuilt MP3 player
out of 42 user reviews
Still in beta? Still feels like beta
Pros: fast, calendar integration
Cons: non-intuitive, ugly, clumsy, cluttered interface
out of 42 user reviews
I love it!!!
Pros: ____________
Cons: ____________
out of 42 user reviews
kilvinjohn
Pros: kilvinjohn
Cons: kilvin-john
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kilvinjohn
out of 42 user reviews
Doesn't get much better than this
Pros: Tons of storage, clean interface, integration with other Google products, great search as expected
Cons: No block list
Google has also successfully integrated Gmail with several of it's other applications like Picasa and Google Calendar adding to its usefulness. The copious amount of storage (currently 2.7 gigs) is also nothing to scoff at.
I am sure CNet will update their review eventually but many of the negative statements made in the review have since been addressed.
-Gmail can be accessed by anyone with a cell phone, not just by invite
-POP3 access is now possible though I have never wanted to take advantage of this due to the unmatched Gmail interface
-I have not done any testing of the spam filter, but I have had no problems with it in a year and a half of use
As for the advertisements, I find them unobtrusive and helpful at times. When checking the status of shipments, I can simply pull up the email and the link to track the package based on the tracking number is right there on the side.
This leads me to my one con. I occasionally get non-spam emails from a company that I have repeatedly tried to unsubscribe from. Gmail doesn't flag these as spam, as it shouldn't, but it would be nice to be able to just block emails from this company.
out of 42 user reviews
Easily The Best Free E-Mail There Is!!!!
Pros: Over 2.5 GB of space (more every secound), Email Filters, Excellent Spam Protection, Labels, Powerfull Search Engine, Conversation View Message Grouping, Google Talk Is Integrated Into It, Easy To Use
Cons: Umm.. No Spam Config Options
The pinnacle features in Gmail are:
* A whopping 2.5 GB (and counting) space (i have 3000 messages and it only uses 7%!!!)
* Powerfull and versatile search engine (never sift for another message again)
* Filters that can automatically apply labels, send messages to the bin, forward other messages to another address among others
* Google Talk is integrated into it, you can now chat to anyone who is online and is in your contacts without having to load up another program.
* The Conversation View of messages allows replies to be treated as a converstaion which makes follow ups and replies very easy to find and understand
* Efficient POP3 access is also available
* Gmail can be used with a variety of other goole apps such as Desktop, Piccasa and plenty more others
The only real con i have ever found with Gmail is the lack of spam configs, even though i find the spam fileters effective as i have only recieved 3 spam messages throughout my 3 years with Gmail. I personally feel that if you want to avoid spam, don't sign up to dodgy sites.
So all said now, Gmail makes a well rounded email service that easily beats all the other services in every department. And you don't need to be invited to join (just sign up for a Google Account)
THE BOTTOM LINE: Gmail Rocks
Features: 10/10
Ease Of Use: 10/10
Customer Service: 9.5/10
You now can get Web Clips In Your Gmail.
this feature allows you to see snippets of news, info and jokes etc. that you select in your account itself, It also contains links for the full story
out of 42 user reviews
Constantly growing E-mail space
Pros: Very simple, no hassle
Cons: no way to block unwanted e-mails
out of 42 user reviews
The best free email out there
Pros: Tons of space and growing, text ads not banner ads
Cons: changing password takes while to propagate for POP access
out of 42 user reviews
doesn't work well with Trillian
Pros: Pretty easy to work with directly
Cons: doesn't work well with Trillian
out of 42 user reviews
better than yahoo! and hotmail or anything else
Pros: simple, easy to use, very good spam blocker, lots of memory, nice spam filter, never delete any trash (too much memory)
Cons: less stuff such as those smile icons, not many fonts
out of 42 user reviews
AMAZING EMAIL SERVER!
Pros: LOVE ALL THE MEMORY! Keyboard shortcuts actually work!
Cons: Help service is not very helpful.
out of 42 user reviews
Almost perfect
Pros: Huge mailbox. Allows huge attachment. DOES DO POP ACCESS
Cons: POP only allows for 1 client download :-(
I love using my Gmail with my Outlook. My only problem is that once the message gets flagged as downloaded by an email client, you cannot download it again by another one unless you download THE WHOLE SET OF EMAILS!!!
out of 42 user reviews
By Far the Best Email Service
Pros: Fast to navigate through, tons of space, and all the best features.
Cons: None...............
out of 42 user reviews
typical plain clean not cluttered with ads
Pros: lots of storage is a plus
Cons: UI seems quite amateurish compared to Yahoo email beta
out of 42 user reviews
Great email client
Pros: Easy search, easy to use, saves drafted emails every so minutes, looks great
Cons: seems to get spyware more than any other email client
This is just a great thing, it's very easy to use, it has so many features that make it much more reliable. Uses activeX which helps make those features easier to use (dial-up users might experience slow browsing). Although since it does use ActiveX, you cannot use gmail if you have activeX problems (which I did on my old computer).
Along with a gmail account comes a free calendar also using activeX and even has a time schedule for each day. Although national holidays we're not put on there automatically, must manually put them in.
Google talk is also embedded into the mail area, so if you're sending to another gmail account, you can just see if the person is on before you right the mail and send it.
Overall, this is a must. I've seen people complaining about being invited, I was invited once a long time ago and I didnt register. But after half a year or so I went back in and could register.. I'm not sure how.. So if you're invited, take the oppertunity to register, even if you're not going to use it, it will come in handy later on in life.
out of 42 user reviews
kick ass. really
Pros: originization, user interface, space, spam filters
Cons: no pop3 access
out of 42 user reviews
The best of the three.
Pros: Reliable, fast, simple interface, free POP3 and Forwarding, 2.7gb
Cons: No add free.
I'd like to be able to block addresses.
out of 42 user reviews
Insane Space and Chat to Boot
Pros: Almost 3GB memory for free, built-in chat service and intuitive message arrangement (conversations)
Cons: invite-only service, inconsistent spam guard and some images get scrambled for HTML messages
The pros more than outweigh the cons so you better go out and find someone willing to invite you ASAP.
out of 42 user reviews
whopping capacity of over 2gb
Pros: huge storage, great layout,no spam, no viruses
Cons: requires invites
out of 42 user reviews
Good service
Pros: A lot of storage
Cons: Dont have any
out of 42 user reviews
Unreliable service
Pros: 10 GB Space
Cons: Outages and no support
out of 42 user reviews
Great Mail
Pros: Mailbox size, conversation format on mail
Cons: Better spam filters
out of 42 user reviews
A lot better than any other mail system
Pros: Huge storage space, labels, search, advance keyboard commands....
Cons: spam system is not to good...
And i think that there is no reason to worry about scanning mail...coz its done by machine
out of 42 user reviews
Needs Rock Solid Spam Filter and Browser Integration.
Pros: Archiving, Gmail Notifier, Labels, Threaded Emails, Keyword searches, Filters, Easy to use, simple and basic yet powerful.
Cons: No setting to permanently block a certain domain, individual filters need to be more responsive. No rich text editor, no real customization of GUI
out of 42 user reviews
Oh, the relief....
Pros: Fast. Handy functionality. IT'S USABLE!
Cons: Photo handling
So far GMail is SUPER FAST. The incoming email notification function works great, displaying the first line of the email. The way it organizes your email by thread is excellent. Overall, just a very user friendly and convenient user interface.
I miss Hotmail's photo handling. When someone sends photos to my Hotmail address, those photos are immediately displayed at the bottom of the message. Like most other email, GMail requires you to view these one at a time.
Also, when you attach photos using Hotmail you can (as of 6 months ago or so...hmmm, coincidence?) SEE the image thumbnails, click on the ones you want, rotate, etc. Gmail simply shows files. Works, but hard to go back to once you start using the thumbs.
I have NO problem with the ads. Apparently it scans your email for keywords and gives you ads based on these. These are mere text listings, formatted like the ads you see when you use Google to search. These are FAR less intrusive than the TWO GIANT GRAPHIC ADS (many with FLASH functionality) that you have to display with EVERY Hotmail refresh.
out of 42 user reviews
Not perfect, but pretty darn good
Pros: Lots of space, great spam filter, I like how messages are set up, good search feature
Cons: Ads on the side
