Google mail wants to be my exclusive mail provider

[martint235]

I use mail.com. Every time I give someone my email address, you can guarantee they'll read it back as gmail.com.

Ooh just had a look at them. Not too keen on 1&1 as a company but I could have @cutey.com

 

[jefmcg]

Although from before it was called Gmail. It started life as googlemail

No, it started as Gmail, then they had an argument with a UK company that already was using the name Gmail, so in the UK changed it to googlemail. You could still use @gmail.com as your email address during that time.

 

[Dan B]

Same here. Although from before it was called Gmail. It started life as googlemail and I've been using it as my main email address ever since.

It was called Gmail when it launched in preview and Caribou before that.

http://googlepress.blogspot.co.uk/2004/04/google-gets-message-launches-gmail.html

You may be thinking of the alternate name for it that they had to use in Germany because someone else had 'gmail' as a trademark there

http://www.infoworld.com/article/26...le-loses-gmail-trademark-case-in-germany.html

firstname.surname@gmail.com. Back then it was a pain having to keep winding the pixies up to make it work though.

I have firstname.middle-initial.surname (since 2005, it seems) but I have a fairly common surname

 

[jefmcg]

We use Google mail for work now and I hate the Android Gmail app which doesn't allow you to turn off Conversation View. This is an extreemly annoying Google feature that arbitrarily groups together emails based on their subject and displays the sequence of emails in the wrong order. Google seem to think they know what's best for everyone Grrr...... :-(

You don't have to use the Gmail app, you can use any android mail app you like

 

[snorri]

Standing in the queue for postage stamps was so much simpler, .................until they closed the post office.

 

[martint235]

You don't have to use the Gmail app, you can use any android mail app you like

K9 used to be quite good but for some reason placed a burden on the battery.

 

[Piemaster]

At least its not Outlook. Have to use it at work and catching up after a period away with someone else dealing with emails is pain with the separation of 'inbox'and 'sent' makes following it difficult. Would much prefer the threaded conversation type layout of Gmail - but I don't have any choice in it.

I've had a gmail account for along time - since googlemail. Use POP forwarding to pick up other accounts too and it does seem pretty good at picking up phishing emails.

@Pat "5mph" you could just set up a filter and categories for your 2 different emails and sort them like that.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@Pat "5mph" you could just set up a filter and categories for your 2 different emails and sort them like that.

Got 3 email accounts, hotmail too
That's because I was forced to choose a user name that comes with an email account when I wanted to use another service.
Harumph twice over: I only want to use name.surname@ntlworld.com as I've done for the last 15 years, the other two mail providers can stuff themselves with spam for all I care.
They can take my life, but they can't take my preferred email address

 

[Piemaster]

They can take my life, but they can't take my preferred email address

Ever actually read the T&Cs? (no, neither have I. I'm not about to at moment either)
I'd guess that they can take it if they want, sure I've seen that after a period of non-use they can close the account and it becomes available again, like a mobile phone contract.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

sure I've seen that after a period of non-use they can close the account and it becomes available again

Aye, but here we have the contrary: the one they could delete right now for all I care wants to take over the one that I use daily!

 

[martint235]

I used to have an online mail aggregator back in the day when IMAP was unusual outside of an office environment. Can't for the life of me remember what it was called though, it's probably still collecting email from all my redundant email accounts (there's at least 6)