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RSSGmail Versus Windows Live Hotmail. Which Will Win?
One of Google’s most recent moves that kept it as one of the top search engine based companies out there was Gmail. In recent years the top online email website was Hotmail. You know, Hotmail; you almost never saw anyone without one (unless they hosted their email on their own website). Hotmail had all the features and they were convenient too.
Back then, it seemed that they were the best candidate for people that disliked spam. That all changed when Gmail entered the stage with a bursting frenzy of hype following it. We all know that Hotmail has recently changed to Windows Live Hotmail, but what motivated them to make this move? Was it Gmail? This is the question people have been asking ever since the launch. Now I’m going to break them both down so you can decide which one is better.
Perks Of Windows Live Hotmail:
- Easy writing platform
- Lets you create many different folders to help file emails
- Lots of space
- Windows Live Email platform has a free download
- Compatible with Instant Messager
- It’s free
Drawbacks of Windows Live Hotmail:
- Not very good at blocking spam (compared to Gmail)
- There isn’t an online chat feature
- Two versions (normal and windows live)
- Marks a lot of things spam that aren’t
Perks Of Gmail:
- VERY simple writing platform
- Easy to track down your friends
- Online chat feature
- Virtually no spam
- Always getting more space (one byte at a time)
- It’s free
Drawbacks Gmail:
The only thing I can think of that is wrong with Gmail is the fact that it doesn’t really have downloadable features to support it.
What you say?
So there you have it. And now it’s time for you to decide which one will be most successful in the long run. What do you think?
Kade on May 8, 2008 
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24 Responses to “Gmail Versus Windows Live Hotmail. Which Will Win?”
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I use Yahoo Mail Classic.
Drawbacks Gmail:
- Quite heavy to load on low internet speed.
- Always hangs at http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=1 under IE6.
- Does not have folders. I think this is the biggest drawback as folders are base requirements for “organising” your data.
- SPAM, i get a lot, around 150 per day. Even though this email address is only used for family communications.
- Vacation Response for specific durations.
I am a loyal Gmail user, and love it.
@milan, I agree with the fact that we need folders, but spam is not a problem if you configure it well.
The space addition counter in the login page is great but I doubt if its computed in real time. I noticed that the counter keeps incrementing whether or not you are connected to the internet.
About gmail not having “downloadable features”. Gmail supports both IMAP and POP3 so you can use it with your regular mail client if you want to.
@milan, I personally think that the labeling system in gmail is by far better than any folder system I have used. There’s no real drawback since you can use it as folders if you like to.
Gmail also has a vacation responder that you can use, just click settings and it’s there.
@Patrik,
That is why i wrote “Vacation Response for specific durations“
@Milan: WHAT are you talking about, no folders???
Labels ARE an extension to folders man! When you look at your label list at the left side its the same as the folder list would look like! You click on one and it shows you its content, JUST LIKE FOLDER!
The difference, and the advantage, of labels is that you can have one email with several labels and you can not do that with Folders!
“And it hangs…with IE6″? I thought this blog is for IT pros? WHO uses IE at all anymore???
:D 
Personally, I honestly think that it is an insult to compare anything M$ made with anything G$ made !!!
@ Predrag
Folders are also used to stash away mails from main view. That does not seem possible with labels. But I think there is a greaseMonkey script that does bring folder options to gmail.
Also @ Predrag
Its common to berate Microsoft. But the fact is that its one thing to be a technology leader and totally another to be a enterprise technology leader. Gmial is good but it is hardly revolutionary. Google has done one thing real well and that is Search. But again that is a pure technological breakthrough and its much easier to upgrade and change than an enterprise product. MS has to think about backward compatibility, support, and so much more as part of an enterprise product and it begins to make sense why products from them don’t intuitively appeal to the aesthetic sense.
Sorry the post was a little one sided towards Gmail. I personally use Hotmail. Milan thank you for giving some drawbacks of Gmail that I did not. I wasn’t trying to make it that open ended but that works:)
Blogging is like a debate. The correct answer depends on the person that has the opinion.
@Predrag Stojadinovic,
Email service is not only been used by IT Professionals, rather all these free email service are largely created for general users. And IE6 is still holding grounds at 60%+ market share that is just ridiculous to ignore.
@Arun
You can indeed stash away mails from the main view, by using Filters.
Create a filter to apply a label and choose the ‘Skip the Inbox(Archive it)’ option. It will be stashed away from the main view and accessed only through labels.
IMO, the coolest feature of Gmail is its search capability. I am able to search for mails using a keyword in their body, that date back to 2+ years, well in few seconds.
I despise getting a forwarded message from a Hotmail user. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an email client that could pooch formatted mail as bad as Hotmail.
I have never used Hotmail because way back when it started I thought the name alone was ridicules. And I simply don’t like most things Microsoft.
People use what they know, and will walk through hell barefoot rather than change. There is undoubtedly a way to clean up forwarded messages in Hotmail, but most people are too lazy. So, I delete a lot of unreadable Hotmail messages. Makes me wonder what I’ve missed over the years.
There is a number of good web-based email apps out there - inbox.com is excellent. My personal preference right now is Gmail. But I use it with Thunderbird / pop mail. Spam filtering alone makes it a must for me. Other addresses I route through gmail just for the filters.
Unlike Hotmail, Yahoo and Juno I don’t get spammed with ads either.
All IMHO of course.
@Arun
Like Ashwin said, Archive the mail and its gone from the “main view”. Please don’t take this the wrong way but if you can’t “stash away mails from the main view” then you either haven’t gotten used to GMail or you are a novice user. In either case you should use something for some time before you can criticize it.
@Milan
I was not talking about email when I said that but rather about this blog we are commenting at. It was supposed to be a joke…
Isn’t ANYONE going to mention the absolutely phenomenal GMail feature: Additional Mail Accounts!!! I am currently using 11 different email accounts and ALL through 1 GMail account and interface. Whenever I get an email I reply using that same email address. Can Hotmail do that?
I may have made a mistake in my previous post. English is not my native language…
When I said “I reply using that same email address” I meant the following. My GMail account is bla@gmail.com and for example I have bla@one.com and bla@two.com. When I get an email which was sent to bla@one.com I get it in gmail and I reply right there using bla@one.com. When I get an email which was sent to bla@two.com I get it in gmail and I reply right there using bla@two.com. The sender/recipient never knows that I am actually only using bla@gmail.com all the time!
This is such a nooby post urgh! *unsubscribes from Rss*
Perks of hotmail -
Easy writing platform - So does gmail
Lets you create many different folders to help file emails - So does gmail
Lots of space - So has gmail and every webmail
Windows Live Email platform has a free download - this is perk?? Seriously are you stupid? hotmail is compatible with only one desktop client while gmail provides pop3 AND IMAP access which works with every client !!!!
Compatible with Instant Messager - So is gmail
It’s free - again plain stupid ‘perk’. rediff.com indiatimes.com . Everythigns free you idiot!
@Milan = noob
every tried clearing your cache/cookies and history??
http://gmail.google.com/gmail?ui=html&zy=n - loads in a second
hotmail’s ajax is slower still
I believe that when this article says that Gmail has no downloadable features, it means no downloadable features issued by google. Sure pop3 is out there but it was not created by Google.
I love gmail and even though I used hotmail for a long time, I will never switch back. I even have my own hosted domain emails setup through the gmail business plan. I love how it keeps emails/replies together and easy to read.
I use the labels as my folder options. Not only can I tag something into a specific label, I can also color code them so I can instantly see what’s what.
So, gmail gets my vote
@Predrag Stojadinovic,
>GMail feature: Additional Mail Accounts
This feature is there in Yahoo and Hotmail since ages.
Wish MS adds chatting option in hotmail & improves spam protection… it will be the best.
The reason y i’ll put gmail in the 2nd spot is, no personal folder option in it.
I’m sticking with Gmail mainly because of the IMAP functionality.
Up til now I used POP access as I much prefer using a full client. I am happier with IMAP as all your mail will still safe in a data centre somewhere if your machine unexpectedly falls over.
The labelling system is OK, when in a client such as Tbird it all looks just like folders anyway. When in the client it seems to automatically “archive” the mail as well if you move mail into folders, so it dissapears from the inbox.
If you want to file things away “folder style” in the web interface apply a label to it and then archive it.
No e-mail solution is perfect but I would give Gmail a thumbs up.
surely any one that given both of email services a try and have spent sometime navigation through the feature offered by both services will know clearly know which email service is better.
I personly love being able to have a rule like feature that will send me a txt msg when ever my folks email me. or job related. etc
weather it be folders or tags. you will come to know which one it managable for our email mess.
if you keep trails of things like blockbuster, netflix, etc. like myself. would it be nice to find out when you have rented BATMAN and from which site in a matter of sec?
there are pros / cons from both. question which one have more pros then cons in your observation?
Well you decide, which is better LOL
I love gmail. No matter what! hahaa!
I got several spams using my windows live.
but overall, 2 thumbs up for live messenger, since it has instant messenging features that are far better than gmail.
cheers.