Legal Research

Gmail Adds a Slew of New Features, Pushes Me to the Brink

… To the brink of giving up my Yahoo mail account, which I’ve used for a decade, that is.  I’ve resisted switching over to Gmail just because I don’t want my eggs in one basket, but since I’ve recently gotten a G1 Android phone, which requires a Gmail account to activate it, I think the point’s now moot.

Gmail’s got some great security features that Yahoo Mail doesn’t have.  I’ve already blogged about Gmail’s encryption option, along with its remote logout feature.  And they’re adding new stuff all the time.

And then there’s Gmail Labs, which currently boasts 31 experimental features you can add to your Gmail account.  I’ve activated 3 of them:

• Forgotten Attachment Detector - If I mention that I’m sending an attachment, but neglect to actually attach a file — doh! — Gmail will prompt me to do so before it sends the message.

• Tasks - An easy-to-use “to do” list tool.

• Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat - Now I can text someone straight from Gmail.  No need to use my cellphone.  Today I sent my son a “happy birthday” text from Gmail.  Now that’s 21st century parenting in action!

You’ll be glad to know that so far I’ve had no need to enable another Gmail labs feature, the “drunken email” prevention tool, Mail Goggles.

Full post as published by Jenkins Webblits on December 11, 2008 (boomark / email).