We pit the beta versions of Yahoo Mail, Hotmail and Gmail
against each other.
MSN Kahuna Beta
Yahoo Mail Beta
Google
Gmail Beta
Yahoo Mail
MSN Hotmail
That means that instead of clicking a message and waiting for the entire page to reload, you'll see content pop up quickly within a pane that feeds messages. And you'll be able to drag and drop messages into folders rather than the old-school method of sorting messages by clicking tiny check boxes and buttons one by one. Such ease-of-use enhancements are made possible by Ajax coding, a combination of dynamic HTML and JavaScript that Gmail also uses.
Both Yahoo and Microsoft are increasing their mail apps' storage size -- an apparent response to the threat posed by Gmail, which rolled out 1GB of free storage for users 18 months ago and has since expanded it to 2.65GB.
Currently, Yahoo Mail Beta and the in-progress version of Hotmail (code-named Kahuna) are being tested by a limited number of people. Later, Yahoo and Microsoft plan to expand the testing; stay tuned as we follow the progress.
| Yahoo Mail Beta | MSN Kahuna Beta | Google Gmail Beta | |
| Free storage | 1GB | 2GB | 2.65GB |
| Browsers | Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera |
Internet Explorer 5.5 and up | Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera |
| Drag and drop messages | Yes | Yes | No |
| Organise messages | Folders | Folders | Labels |
| Security protection | Spam filters | Spam and phishing filters |
Spam filters |
| Search messages | Yes, attachments as well | Yes | Yes |
| Message strings | No | No | Yes |
| Ads are based on content of your e-mail | No | No, but Microsoft is considering it | Yes |
| RSS newsreader | My Yahoo feeds are attached to Yahoo account but don't go to mail in-box | No | Google Reader feeds are attached to Gmail account but don't go to mail in-box |
| How to test | Get on waiting list
at Yahoo's Web site |
Testing closed to public |
By invitation
only |
| Tabbed messaging | Yes | No | No |
![]() MSN Kahuna Beta Read review |
The next-generation Hotmail -- code-named Kahuna -- is getting a drastic makeover, including an interface that strongly resembles the look and feel of Outlook and the new Yahoo Mail Beta. |
![]() Yahoo Mail Beta Read review |
Yahoo Mail Beta is sleeker, faster, and smarter than its predecessor and may cause many users to dispense with Outlook entirely. |
![]() Google Gmail Beta Read review |
If you don't mind Google's computers scanning your e-mail messages -- and you can scare up an invite -- then you'll come to appreciate the unique features and the huge storage capacity of Gmail. |
![]() Yahoo Mail Read review |
For its ease of use and wealth of features, plus its newly expanded in-box, Yahoo Mail is our pick for the best free Web mail service. |
![]() MSN Hotmail Read review |
Until Hotmail's promised new storage upgrade becomes reality, Microsoft's free Web mailer can't compete with the services from Google and Yahoo. |
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amitwavhal
03/04/2007 03:29 PM
i want to make my email account to outlook express
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b1kwmv55
25/06/2007 10:09 PM
Gmail does not reqire invite
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