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April 13, 2004
Gmail time
I've been invited to try out Googles new email system - Gmail (thanks!). I'll be updating my impressions here during the evening.
Signup was pretty easy although I tried several browsers on the Mac before I had to use Firefox. Google lists the ones they don't fully support - and that would seem to be true. At the moment I am using 0 MB (0%) of my 1000 MB. I first sent a couple of test emails and in one of them I just put the words Cocoon, XML. Now when I click on the email (in my sent folder), Gmail shows me adverts for some Cocoon related stuff, so the adverts aren't limited to just incoming email.
In all the web interface handles well and is not as cluttered as some other web mail services I know. Basically there isn't a lot of difference either. Except of course that you can't create any additional folders (or subfolders). But maybe you don't need them either - that remains to be seen when I have a bit more email in there.
Actually I've just discovered the label functionality - which is basically the same as folders (I think anyway). You can define labels (like: "family", "important"). Once the labels are defined you can select an email and apply a particular label (so the email is marked as say "important". But it is also possible then click on the defined label and get all messages marked with that label (which is really the same as selecting a folder "important" isn't it?)
Two interesting options on incoming email are that you can report a particular email as spam (I wonder what happens then - I guess I'll find out soon :-)) and you can mark a particular thread with a star - allowing you to later select all threads with a star (sort of like flagging them I guess).
You can move mail into the trash folder and then choose the "delete forever" option to permanently erase. Gmail then shows a little message: No conversations in the trash. Who needs to delete when you have 1000 MB of storage?!
Gmail recommends that you in fact "Archive" rather than delete (after all, you have a gig). If you select an email and click "Archive" the email actually vanishes (which got me a bit at first). It only reappears if you click on "All mail". I was sort of expecting an "Archive" folder to appear.
You can also set up filters based on search criteria. The filters are then applied automatically on incoming email. The filters can then perform the following options - you can apply a label (see above for more on labels) to the email, automatically archive it or move the email to the trash folder.
Screenshots (click for larger ones)
Updates: A couple of things I missed out above: Keyboard shortcuts allow you to navigate through Gmail using - well - the keyboard - pretty nifty for a web interface (I took a quick look at the JavaScript code that's behind it all - wow there's a lot). And you can add several labels to a single email (which seems an advantage over just sorting the email into a single folder).
Posted by Matthew at April 13, 2004 07:29 PM
Comments
Nice review. I also have a review, at http://blog.outer-court.com . And you are right, labels do act like folders. One difference though (as you also point out): you can stick multiple labels to a single email, which would equal this email being put in several different folders (something not possible usually, so labels prove to be better).
Posted by: Philipp Lenssen at April 15, 2004 12:28 PM
Hi I LOVE WHAT U DID THX ALOT it mad me understand better gmail. !!!!!!!!
Best of all i liked the screen shots im sure to get a gmail account with that 1000mb lol.
=D
GREAT JOB I LIKE IT..
google is gonna have a huge succes for this
Posted by: hello at May 8, 2004 07:33 PM