Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Windows Live Hotmail

The challenge was to find a good web based email client that could easily integrate with Outlook and also be used with a Blackberry Curve for mobile access. Gmail has a better web interface than Yahoo or Live, if you don't like annoyances. Gmail and Yahoo were easy to add to Outlook and equally easy to configure for a Blackberry Curve. Email from both Gmail and Yahoo could be received directly in the Blackberry's inbox without resorting to the pain of trying to navigate through the Blackberry's browser. Windows Live Hotmail just didn't make the grade.

Gmail provides a clean and easy to use web interface without pop-ups, annoying flash components, or space hungry ads. Yahoo has a wonderful interface, but requires flash and that's not supported in a 64-bit web browser. The last time I accessed my Yahoo account I also was stopped cold by a mesage that Now You Can Chat Inside Yahoo! Mail. Clicking continue would set my presence to available. There was no way to say no, but there were instructions for how to sign out of chat. I don't want to do chat with Yahoo and don't like the idea that user must opt out. Windows Live Hotmail's interface is also nice, but you have to put up with large advertisements. The humorous What If Gmail Had Been Designed by Microsoft article at Google Blogoscoped is apropos. For ease of use, the Gmail web interface is the only one without distractions allowing you to get right down to business.

Access to Gmail and Yahoo via Outlook was as easy as setting up a new account. Not so with Windows Live Hotmail. To get that to work, you must install a separate application called "Outlook Connector" that is nearly devoid of any user preference settings. Once installed, it takes control of your junk mail and will not allow you to choose the level of junk e-mail protection you want. Personally, I don't want to use junk mail filtering and prefer to use other methods, so this "feature" became an obstacle to usability that was just too much of a pain to keep. Aside from this major annoyance, access to email via the connector was very slow on a very high speed connection causing performance delays in simple tasks like shutting down Outlook. For network environments, the idea of adding a local plug-in to access email will run into configuration management issues. This approach to Outlook email access just does not seem to be well thought out or good for usability.

Access to Gmail and Yahoo via a Blackberry Curve was also easy to do using the Blackberry service provider's web interface for setting up email account. Windows Live Hotmail could not be configured to work because it is not available as a pop3 or imap email account.

Both Gmail and Yahoo came through the challenge with Gmail taking the edge with a superior web interface. Windows Live Hotmail is no longer part of my user experience.
Posted by WEBnME @ 1/05/2008 02:25:00 PM
Permanent Link: http://www.webnme.com/2008/01/gmail-yahoo-mail-or-windows-live.asp
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