The Best Email Services on the Web

The invention of Web 2.0 technologies has made it possible for almost anyone to create their own email service. With this in mind, selecting the best email services is essential. Lets face it; there are a lot of crap providers these days.

There are several email services that come to mind, Yahoo, Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, Gmail, and many others. Each provider has the good, bad, and the ugly. The best email services are sometimes those that are free.

Gmail is one of the best email services offered today. It offers almost unlimited email storage, offers an intuitive search feature similar to Google, and allows IMAP and POP access. This enables you to use Gmail with your favorite program, such as Outlook or Windows Mail. The downside is that the interface is simple and you see contextual adverts on almost every screen.

AIM Mail is the free version of AOLs paid email service. It offers a rich user interface and has a great text editor. However, it lacks organizational features, such as a calendar, folders, or labels. Like Gmail, it offers POP and IMAP access.

Yahoo Mail is one of the most feature rich providers available today. It combines email services with instant messaging, SMS texting, RSS, and unlimited storage. Yahoo uses a clean cut web interface, however; IMAP and POP access require a paid subscription. This is painful if you use a Blackberry or other Smartphone.

Zembe Free is one of the new email services that combine email with social networking. It offers a simple interface with elegance and organizes your messages by attachment. It is still a new service and has flaws, but enables you to track your Face book and Twitter feeds in one place.

Windows Live Hotmail is a classic email provider that offers 5 GB of storage, good security, and a user interface comparable to Outlook. It offers basic organizational tools and it does not have POP or IMAP access. The service is easy to use with Outlook given an add-on is installed.

Choosing the right email services depends on a variety of factors. POP and IMAP access are critical to some, while others do not mind using the web interface. Some providers have adverts appear on the bottom of messages you send which doesnt look good in a professional setting. Other providers limit attachment sizes and types. If spam filtering is important ensure the email providers you select have it installed.

Do not be afraid to try a new service, for example, Gmail is supposable still in Beta stages. Experiment with multiple providers until you find the right one. Just because email providers charge a fee does not make them better.