Gmail Alternatives…
contemplativeSo, now I'm using IceRocket almost exclusively for my Web searching. The more I use it, the more I like it. I am, however, having issues with finding a suitable Gmail replacement. I'm sure I've spent way too much time looking for the perfect one but I'm not sure if it exists.
—
Hmmm, I apologise, before I go too far I should correct myself… I do still use Google on occasion. But only to search for Google alternatives. They do still return the most results and it only seems appropriate that Google be the search engine that frees me from using their services. 🙂
—
Www.noluv4google.com is keeping a running tab of all those who have "dumped" Google and moved on to better relationships. I have yet to sign up because I have been hanging onto my Gmail account trying to find the best alternative so I don't make the transition to another place and loose some important, potentially irreplaceable information (it involves company email addresses and other messiness). So far, I have found a number of alternatives, but none that capture all of the main features that I rely on the Gmail account for: POP3/IMAP, webmail, the ability to send and receive large attachments, mulitple accounts/identities, SPAM blocking, a generous amount of storage and, oh right, it's free.
Some of the most popular/reccommended Gmail alternatives that keep coming up are Walla.com (2 GB), Fastmail.fm (10 MB with free account), Runbox.com (10 GB for $49.95 US / year), and Spymac.com (1 GB email storage, 1 GB webspace). All of these are praised by a number of different people but fall short of what Gmail provided.
Walla.com does have the hefty 2 GB email storage, however, it has only a very basic interface and does not let you control any preferences at all. Plus, I was unable to attach a file to send. No POP, no multiple accounts… no thanks.
Fastmail.fm seems to come recommended by a number of people but it only has a number of features if you shell out $40 US / year. The free account only comes with 40 MB of storage space and very few of the features I'm looking for (no large attachments here). Plus if you don't access it for 45 days the close the account.
Runbox.com does not offer a free account, only a free trial. It has a huge 10 GB email account and claims to offer all of the features that I'm looking for. The problem is that the trial version does not seem to let you have access to all of the features so it's difficult to test anything. And maybe I'm stingy but I'm not shelling out money for something that I can't be be sure will work.
Spymac.com seems like one of the better candidates, however, it does not allow multiple accounts/identities. It looks like it might if I upgrade to their CLUB package but, again, Me stingy. Other than that, worth checking out.
I found an email service provider called 30gigs.com which looked promising given the fact that it offers a free 30 GB account and does allow for multiple identities. However, it does not offer POP/IMAP, nor was I able to successfully attach any files to send. Oh right, there's a mountain of ads to have to deal with. [sigh]
Another one I discovered from the list at Www.noluv4google.com is Aventuremail.co.uk/. It offers a 5 GB account for a one-time $5.95 fee. It offers POP and multiple ID's but I'm not sure about attachment size. Also, when you attach a file, there is currently no way to remove it if you change your mind.
The best online email service I have found is Inbox.com. It has everything I'm looking for except for multiple accounts/IDs. Unfortunately, for this reason alone I may not use it. Which is too bad because everything else about it is so perfect by comparison. If you don't care much about multiple ID's this is where I would start and finish looking. Plus it gives you a great email address too — yourname@inbox.com.
Either way, It's well past my bed time. I haven't found the perfect free replacement yet, but I'll keep looking. I'm actually strongly considering registering my own Domain name with someone that'll offer a free webmail account with it.
We'll see…
Good night.
—
steelie
[UPDATE]
Inbox.com now has everything I’ve been looking for plus they’ve increased their email space to 5 GB, which can also be used to store music, photos and other files. Very happy…
—
steelie
“They’ve increased their
email space to 5 GB, which can also be used to store music, photos and
other files.”Though people have hacked Gmail, for basic storage, sites like Box.net work better. Yet better though, to store media assets, why not use Vox itself, or other Open ID enabled sites such as Zooomr, where you can lever your Vox identity and need not create and maintain yet another login and password. Then mark such assets private, temporarily if you need, until you're ready to publish. Vox here even uses “media assets” to describe those content types.Anyway, was not the reason for the Web sharing and not storing?