Gmail

Guide Note

Gmail is a free e-mail host developed by Google. Gmail first began as a beta release and you needed an invitation to join, but as of 2007 Google has opened it up to the public and you no longer need an invitation to join. Gmail users were first allowed 1GB of storage for e-mails and it has now jumped up to several gigabytes, which has caused many other free services such as Hotmail to up the free mail storage allowances.

Gmail is a very robust e-mail client and offers many of the major features needed to get work done. For example, you can set up Gmail to redirect the mail it receives to another e-mail client or just delete the e-mail entirely or archive it. Gmail also automatically saves all the contacts e-mail addresses that you send an e-mail to, so there is no need to remember someone's e-mail address. Gmail also integrates with AOL Instant Messenger and Google Talk to allow you to communicate with your contacts from the Gmail page.

One of the main ways Google makes revenue from Gmail is by offering contextual ads in the e-mails. This has raised privacy concerns since the advertisers could possibly scan the e-mail without their knowledge. Gmail also uses a web interface only, which could possibly allow someone to read your e-mail if they are tracking you.

Because of Google's offer to give free e-mail storage to anyone, it has received stiff competition from other companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo. This competition forces each of these companies to increase their storage space and features in order to compete with each other.

Fast Facts

1. Developer: Google
2. Named Google Mail in Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom
3. Automatically saves contact information when sending to an unknown sender
4. Private beta opened April 1, 2004
5. Public beta release on February 7, 2007
6. Currently provides over 4 GB of free storage