GMail POP3 a Feature? »
GMail is introducing POP3 access for users, initially leading most to think that GMail could be used as your primary account, as others have mentioned. What I don't get is why anyone would be quite this excited about it. Let's think about this for a moment.
Initially, the selling point of GMail was the 1000MB (1GB) of storage. Others have matched it, so perhaps this selling point has lost its luster. But what is also lost is that most POP3 users will use default settings, and those default settings remove mail from the server. Thus, introducing POP3 isn't so much a feature offering for the service, it's a storage-saving device.
Sure, POP3 can be configured to leave messages on the server. Have you ever tried that in Outlook, then tried to access those messages again from Outlook running on another computer? You end up downloading the same messages all over again, and since storage is so huge on GMail, it could be quite a download.
I understand that offering POP3 access for free may be a feature to sell GMail as a better competitor to other web mail services that don't offer it for free, and I also understand that having a free POP3 account my have some usefulness. But in the end they are two different markets. There is no room for a single conversation that contains both the immense size of the mailbox and the POP3 access to it, since those things don't work together. Now if they were to introduce IMAP, it might be interesting.
In the meantime, I don't think this is so much a selling point to new users as it is getting existing users to switch from the web-based interface (requiring not only extra storage, but cycles to serve those pages, processs searches and the like) to the POP3 one. And can you imagine what will happen the first time a longtime web user tries POP3 and downloads their 475MB of messages, so that they are no longer available online? Oops.
Comments (13)
Yes, POP3 was a silly move. IMAP would be great. Even better, as some have mentioned, would be for Gmail to have the ability to poll *your* IMAP server, and Gmail-ify all of the messages you've already got.
Posted by Peter | November 11, 2004 9:09 AM
The way I intend to use GMail is as a spam filter, forwarding my email from my web host and picking it up in Outlook after Google filters it.
Posted by Cliff Helsel | November 19, 2004 5:25 PM
While I agree that IMAP would be way more interesting than POP3, I can see situations in which a user couldn't get to the Gmail website because of firewall issues, but had the ability to configure a client to check the mail for him.
Actually, I've done this myself (with other accounts) at times - crap firewall configuration, yes, but that's another issue. In this case, POP3 access isn't so much as a selling point as it is an extra feature that makes it easier to use for already-devoted users.
Posted by Beth | November 21, 2004 10:33 AM
Peter: The Gmail-ifying of existing IMAP accounts would be sweet.
Cliff: I understand. POP3 makes sense. But if you're using it as a filter, I'm assuming you're then not keeping it at Gmail.
Beth: Understood that there are instances where you could do both.
The point being simply that on an ongoing basis, I think most will find it unlikely that they would use both features at the same time, since POP3 and a massive amount of online storage don't necessarily go together. One feature is for a central "repository" and one is for retrieving data to bring back to your own computer.
Posted by Chad Everett | November 21, 2004 11:00 AM
I disagree on this one. POP support is a good idea. After all, it's just a feature that some people may want to use some of the time. People moving across from Hotmail probably won't use it but others will. What about the common situation where a user checks their Gmail with a POP account on their primary computer and uses Gmail everywhere else? Makes sense to me. If you use an email client like Eudora you can carry around your email on a USB drive and check it from any computer with no configuration other than installing Eudora with the default settings and altering the "Target" field of it's desktop shortcut. As long as you don't lose your USB drive that is.
Posted by Weeja | December 7, 2004 10:43 PM
I seem to have been less than clear. POP3, all by itself is a feature. However, POP3, with a 1GB online mailbox, doesn't work. Weeja, in your example you mention carrying around your USB drive to have your mail with you. Excellent idea. But that means you aren't using the online storage of GMail, which was its first selling point. It's very clear that POP3 is a feature. What isn't clear is that it seems to be advertised hand-in-hand with the online storage, and that is what doesn't make sense.
Posted by Chad Everett | December 8, 2004 6:10 AM
jayseae :
What a rare (or rather - typical!) narrow-mindedness!!! "_I_ don't see any point in POP3 access to 1GB web-based email service. Ergo, POP3 access to 1GB web-based email service is useless."
Well, mate, here's how the story goes : one loves pickles in brine, while another one adores brownies. Those who prefer POP3 access can access Gmail through POP3. Those who prefer web-based access - can access 1GB of their Gmail emails through their browser. That's how some companies gain customers (while some other companies lose customers!) - by either offering the same features at lower price point, or by offering more features at the same price point.
NOW those who wanted to have a single, permanent, ISP-independent email account accessible through POP3 can ditch Yahoo!/Hotmail/whatever and head for Gmail. And after Gmail will pick some steam, you'll see Yahoo! adding POP3 access back (just like my Yahoo! box all of a sudden got enlarged to 250MB - yup! - some fortnight ago) , because that's how the market works.
1GB of space and POP3 access are unrelated - just like "calendar", "notepad", shopping services, pseudo-newsgroups etc. that Yahoo! provides are unrelated - those are just features. The more candy at the door - the more kiddies line up for a treat...
As a side note, the growth of web-based mail boxes was long overdue, it's not something that Google provided in a desperate bet-the-company move. If you look at the size of mail boxes that used to be free in the late '90s, then you look at the price of storage back in the '90s, you'll realize that by keeping the mail box sizes down to what they were 5-7 years ago companies like Yahoo! and M$ simply grew their revenues to unreasonable levels. Google was simply the first to say - ok, the price per GB is obscenely low these days, let's deliver those gains to the customers.
Posted by Old Hack | December 9, 2004 11:35 AM
Interesting argument, Old Hack. Saying that I am narrow-minded, then supplying the very fodder for my argument! Perhaps narrow-mindedness is indeed present here in large quantities!
As I mentioned multiple times previously, and you were so kind to support in your post, a large amount of storage space and POP3 are unrelated. As I may not have been completely clear: This is my point.
The space can be sold as a feature. The POP3 can be sold as a feature. But it will be a very rare case when someone will be able to make use of both features simultaneously!
Posted by Chad Everett | December 9, 2004 2:55 PM
But you can make use of both. I'm going to Florida on Saturday for vacation for 8 days. If I only have 2 MB of E-Mail or some small ammounnt like that and I get lots of messages and attachments. And I have no way to check E-Mail while in Florida. And I people say they couldn't write cuz my box was full.
The messages still stay on the web where ever untill you POP for them. In the settings on the google page it says archive or stay in In Box. So a copy still goes there. So I'll still need use the web space. POP doesn't use the space cuz U go directly to the HD.
But the messages still have to sit somewhere before you POP for them.
I mean with all my other accounts the messages disappear from whereever and got to my HD when I POP for them. But until I POP for them they stay on the webb where I can read them until I POP for them. So in affect the online storage is being used. And unless you sit in front of the computer 24/7 and check every five minutes you won't get all the messages instantly. So you still ned the online space.
And now when I get back from Florida I don' have to wory cuz I had enough room to hold alll my stuff before I POP for them. And after I POP I can start fresh so I'll always have enough room for everything.
So it is not so rare to use both. Both are necessary.
Posted by ivinjay | January 5, 2005 1:26 AM
Pop3 is useful when I want to use my PDA to check gmail over my home WIfI network. Messages interface of windows ce is much bettor than the web interface on a Small screen. And besides, web interface of gmail does not work or ppc!
Posted by beso | February 13, 2005 6:05 PM
Most of this discussion is silly, but I will submit my own opinion to clear up the argument to NOBODY would want POP access + 1GB of storage. Guess what? I'm one who does! I get on the order of 100 or so emails per day on several email accounts, and prefer POP access to read my mail through my preferred email client (which happens to be Eudora). I can do filtering, mailboxes, etc. to my heart's delight. I also set my POP client to leave all mail on server. When I'm on the road or at work (behind a firewall) or away from my primary computer, I can use GMail webmail to access ALL of my mail. Since I am the kind of person who needs to look back in my mail archive over a matter of years sometimes, I want to have access to all of it no matter where or how I access it. Not even to mention what has already been said about going away for a while and having a friend kill a terribly undersized email account by sending a bunch of pictures!
Posted by Vince | February 16, 2005 2:26 PM
I know I'm a bit late and someone has already said this before, at least I'm sure of it (or you know by now) - you can set it to archive, that way if you set up Outlook on a different computer, it only downloads the NEW mail. Then you can mark the messages as unread later to download them to Outlook on your home computer.
Posted by Lynn | February 25, 2005 8:56 AM
Pop3 is a good idea. I use it to access my gmail from my cellphone and it works great.
Posted by Keith | March 29, 2005 12:08 PM