A look at Google Mail (Gmail)

Google's rolled out a whole new version of Gmail with a tonne of new features and modifications, so it's about time we updated this review.

English (US)

One of Google Mail's main features is the unlimited storage. Although Google display a limit in your inbox and on the Google Mail login page they have claimed that as long as Google can manage the limit will always be 1 megabyte more than the biggest account. Thus making the service unlimited storage. The service currently expands by 2 to 3MB a day.

When Google originally launched the service (on April Fools Day) it was considered a joke as no service provided 1GB of storage (this was the original limit before it began increasing day-by-day). And then news sites and bloggers received their invites - that's when companies like Microsoft and Yahoo! began to take Google seriously. MSN Hotmail increases to 250MB from a measly 2MB and yahoo increases from 5MB to 1GB to try and keep users.

Instant Mail!

Google's mail servers are extremely quick, if you test send an email from another service such as Hotmail Google will receive the email almost instantly and auto-update your inbox within five minutes (or you can do it manually). This was the first web mail service of it's kind to do this and has quickly spread to other services.

Not only does Google send and receive your email quickly but your inbox and other folders also load quickly without having to change to another page.

Never delete another email

Because of the storage provided by Google it means you never have to delete another email. Instead Google would like you to archive it. The archive is basically like a folder on your normal email service such as Yahoo! or Hotmail. Your archive is accessible by the All Mail link on the side of your account.

Never loose an email

Google have also implemented a system called 'Labels'. They do, as the saying goes, exactly what it says on the tin. You can create, delete and rename labels to suit your needs and they are accessible from the sidebar of your Google Mail account.

If you click on a label Google Mail will automatically load all email which you have applied this label to.

To apply a label to an email from the inbox or another folder simply check the box by the email and then from the 'More actions...' drop down select a label to apply (you can create a new one if you like). You can also delete an labels already applied to the emails selected.

Google have incorporated their award-winning search technology into your inbox so that you can find old emails quickly and easily. And like the rest of Google Mail it loads instantly.

Gtalk/Google Talk

GTalk is a Instant Messaging service provided by the big G (the client to connect is called Google Talk). Recently Google have incorporated ability to use the service from within your inbox, something which was previously provided by third-part website Gtalkr. Google Talk is above the labels side-box on your Google Mail account. To hide it select 'standard without chat' from the bottom of the page.

Google also keep an archive of all messages you send over the Gtalk network in a folder called 'Chats'. You can disable this feature from settings (Settings->Chat->Don't save).

Web Clips

Web Clips are quotes or blog posts that appear on the top of some Gmail/Google Mail pages. You can change the content that appears here to suit your needs in the settings (Settings->Web Clips).

Google Personalised Home

Google then launched the personalised home (See the personalised home link on top of the Google Homepage) which allows users to see their inbox right from the Google homepage. This feature was added to compete with services already provided by Yahoo! (My Yahoo!/Yahoo! 360) and MSN (My MSN/Windows Live).

Google Calendar/Local Integration

When you are sending an email Google has added the ability to also add events to Google Calendar from within the Gmail interface by clicking 'Event info' below the subject box.

If you receive an email about an event or location Google will automatically provide links to either Google Calendar or Google Local, sadly when I tried this I couldn't get it to work. But then again it is beta software.

Gmail notifier and POP access

Google originally provided a program called Gmail Notifier to users for free which alerted them when they received an email. Google then went one step further and provided free POP access through a secure port to users, still something which Yahoo! and MSN only provide to subscribers.

So, what do I think?

Google have definitely pulled all the stops out in trying to create Gmail/Google Mail. There are a few problems with the service including the missing layout on links from Google Personalised Home and the Google Calendar and Local integration. Nevertheless it is the best free web mail service I've tried so far.

I can't see the signup link?

Google currently does not allow signups for UK users unless you receive an invitation from an existing member. If you would like an invite you can PM me on the forums.