We have been using email services over the web for many years. They save us long configuration processes and allow us to make inquiries from anywhere . One of the most used is, without a doubt, Gmail. Google's email service has been offering us free space and various configuration options for many years.
So much so that the service has little to envy the options and functions that are usually available in a software tool such as Outlook. In addition, in recent times, Microsoft has decided to launch its own web email. So the old Hotmail has been renamed Outlook.com .
The service has been modernized. Now it has a much more minimalist aesthetic. But this is not all. Because it includes many features that make it very similar to Gmail and Outlook itself, from the Microsoft Office suite.
If you want to create a new email account and don't know which service to choose, we recommend taking a look at the advantages and disadvantages of Gmail and Outlook.com .
Advantages and disadvantages of Gmail
Gmail, Google's free email service, has more than 1 billion users worldwide. It has been in operation since April 2004 and thirteen years later, it is more alive than ever. One of the reasons for its success, in addition to being within the Google ecosystem, has to do with its enormous potential for innovation . These are, in our opinion, its main advantages and disadvantages.
Advantage
- It is within the Google account. If you regularly use Google services, you will most likely end up hooked on Gmail. And vice versa. The good thing about this system is that it allows us to access Google Drive files, YouTube videos, Google maps and our own search history. Simply log in with a single username and password to have access to everything.
- Include Hangouts for you to chat with your contacts. Sometimes it is much faster to send a chat, than to write an email message. The good thing about Gmail is that almost since the beginning of time it has offered us the ability to chat directly with our contacts. Before with Google Talk, now through Hangouts.
- 15 GB of free storage. The storage that Google email offers us is practically unlimited. Despite that, you should keep in mind that if you use Google Drive to save other documents (desktop files, photos and Google Drive documents), this ability may be somewhat fair. But if you only manage email, you will never have any space problems.
- Classification of mail by folders. It is a feature that arrived not so long ago, but has solved the problem that any old account has. Why? Well, because after the years, countless messages, subscriptions and notifications from social networks tend to reach our mailbox. Luckily, Gmail does a pretty good classification of priority emails, network notifications, promotions and notifications from other services to which we are subscribed.
- Laboratory of functions. It is one of the characteristics that have most seduced the experts. The Gmail Laboratory (Labs) is accessible from the configuration panel. It includes a wide variety of functionalities and innovative features that in many cases have become official, but that the user can test if they are activated voluntarily.
- She is good at classifying spam. One of the great powers of Gmail is undoubtedly its ability to classify spam. Rarely is a junk mail falling into the email inbox. Most of the time, the classification is correct. And this is a huge advantage in terms of productivity (and when you see that hundreds and hundreds of spam messages arrive in your mailbox every day).
- Label organization system. Gmail also has other functionality that is a significant organizational advantage. What do we mean? Well, to the mail distribution system in different sections you have to add the labels. These allow us to better classify the mail by subject, so that it is possible to separate it by clients, projects, work, personnel, etc.
- Offers desktop notifications. You do not have to be aware of the mail all the time or with the Gmail window open in the browser. Gmail offers a desktop notification system that can be easily configured and will warn you of every email you receive instantly.
Disadvantages
- It only allows you to attach files up to 25MB . When it comes to receiving, Gmail is a fairly generous email, because it offers us the possibility of embracing emails of up to 50 MB. However, when it comes to sending, many times it can fall short. Because it only allows us to transfer attachments of 25 MB.
- Some Labs options do not work in all languages . As these are experimental or beta features, they are often not available in all languages. And therefore, one cannot enjoy them in Spanish. Luckily, if the feature finally succeeds, the translations arrive without a hitch.
- Mail management can be a bit tedious . By offering the user virtually unlimited storage capacity, you run the risk of abandoning email management. This means that if you ever need to save space, you will have to move thousands and thousands of emails. And when that happens, Gmail gets heavy and slow.
- It may take a long time to attach files . Do you want to send large files? Well, arm yourself with patience. It will most likely take a long time to attach them. Luckily, if you give it to send before it has been attached, the system will carry out the sending autonomously. And you won't have to wait for any process to finish.
Advantages and disadvantages of Outlook.com
Outlook.com has taken over from Hotmail , Microsoft's old webmail. The service does not replace the Outlook program, which is the one that is integrated into the Office office suite, but it is a great option for those who do not want to give up a service of this type. And they don't want to go to Gmail. Next, we will tell you what are its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantage
- Registering and creating a new account is very easy. Yes, this is one of its most remarkable features. If you need to create an email account quickly, Outlook.com will do the trick. All you have to do is enter a few details so that, in just a couple of minutes, you will have your address.
- Contacts linked to Skype (you can actually use the same account). Do you use Skype? Well stop there, because you can use the same account for Skype as for Outlook.com. You already know that Microsoft has been running this video calling tool for quite a few years. Your contacts will be automatically synchronized between both accounts, so that you can chat with them from the email itself.
- The design has improved a lot. Hotmail was a very useful tool to manage our first email addresses, but the truth is that its design was not entirely clear. In fact, we found advertising in every corner there was and to be. What happens now? Well, Outlook.com has a much cleaner, white and customizable design (something you can also do from Gmail). And in this sense it takes a certain advantage over Gmail. The options are clearly visible and it is very easy to customize your inbox. It is, overall, a much more pleasant tool to use.
- Customizing the signature is very simple. You can do it from the user interface itself, but if you register again, you will have the option to configure your signature from the beginning.
- You can easily integrate public and private events into the calendar. It is something that we can do for a long time at Google. We mean syncing events. Both private (user) and public: the football league season, for example, or national holidays.
- It has a search system. The search system is quite accurate. At the top of the inbox we find a search box with a magnifying glass. We can search in Contacts, but also in the inbox. In this way, we will quickly locate contacts and emails.
- Warning system for fraudulent messages . This feature is very important, because it can complement spam filters. Outlook.com proposes a color code (green, yellow and red) to identify safe senders and to identify those that have a high probability of being fraudulent. Green ones tend to flag trusted senders, while yellow ones tend to flag spam messages. Those marked in red can be highly dangerous: this is where possible identity theft comes in.
Disadvantages
- Message filtering is not that exhaustive. If you've tried Gmail's sorting bins, chances are you don't want to go back. And using Outlook.com is going back in time. You will miss that Facebook notifications are not mixed with advertising, newsletters and professional messages.
- Only 5GB of free storage offered. Another way to go back in time is with regard to storage capacity. And is that Outlook.com only gives us 5 GB of free space. While it is a reasonable portion, if you use OneDrive for other things, chances are you will soon run out of space. You can get more storage if you hire Office 365, because in this case you will have 1TB.
- Greater limitations in sending attachments . Yes, with Outlook.com you will also have to face limitations when it comes to sending and receiving attachments. The limit on submissions is 20 MB.
- There are no experimental or innovative features . No, if you are used to trying new functions and you usually add interesting features to your Gmail email, you should know that with Outlook.com you will not have this possibility. There is simply no laboratory in which ideas are integrated. The functions are those that are already visible, which are much smaller than those of Google mail.