maortega15

Currently, I am using MSN premium which is about US$9.95 a month. I really like it even if I pay. But I am thinking about switching. The problem is I get too much junk mail a day from sites such as christianmingle, eharmony, match, etc. So I am thinking about switching. I'm not sure if I should stick with MSN and just create a new email address or switch to Gmail or other email service. I really don't know the pros and cons of Gmail and/or other email services recommended. Any insight would be appreciated.

Cheers

sonofzeus

Pay for email? Never! I'm very pleased with GMAIL on platforms large and small. I have five addresses consolidated. Spam filters on full stun, Scotty.

cordelli

Have you tried the different levels of spam filtering in MSN? Adjusting those may take care of a lot of the problem, or if you are not using their web interface, whatever software you are using to read it.

maortega15

Currently the setting is on "Moderate". But sometimes email that is not junk goes into the junk folder. Thats why I'm thinking about making a new account with MSN, Gmail or elswhere and start fresh.

USA_flyer

I've had gmail pretty much since it was released to the public. The spam filter is great, it's a very rare occurence for spam to reach my inbox and it's equally rare for email I want to reach my spam folder. It's easy to configure other devices for gmail use, mine is available on my Playbook and my smartphone.

I like the 'in-app' chat function for the PC and seperate App for Android. It's a real pity it's not available on the Playbook.

Folders are easy to set up. Archiving is simple.

In all, it's a very good free service.

Letitride3c

Has OP considered downgrading or switching from "premium" to free MSN account as you would keep your existing/current *@msn.com" and/or "*@live.com" with the change. Did this a while back, either online or via a voice call to customer care - and, it's been free forever since.

Have a free secondary MSN account for certain emails filtered & forwading designated incoming messages to the main MSN account, so additional spams or junks usually do not get thru.

MSN's free Messenger services (everyone should've received an official notice/email from MSN by now) are being retired (shut down) and merged into Skype as of 15th of March, 2013 - which is both good & bad while staying online or invisible w. video chats, etc. That's one less background running App to keep open on the smartphone, cheers!

Google has its strength and I use most of the features, but like Facebook, staying careful with privacy settings on sharing/posting - newer apps & widgets like Plus, Now, Currents & My Folder running on the Nexus 7 most of the time acting as a gigiantic location-based "transceiver" - along with Skype, of course.

Occassionally, the spam filters from Google or MSN will divert & send incoming emails to the junk folder, but it will "learn" over time - the choice to use one vs. the other is a matter of preference & importance on the features offered by each provider. Regardless of what's primary vs. secondary, I cherish the alternate as a backup for contingency purposes should the mail servers go down for an extended period of time. Key contacts & links are accessible on both for me - the eggs split fairly evenly between two baskets.

If you travel or deal with colleagues abroad in places like China, it's invaluable to have access to both Skype & Google Talk/Voice - with or without using VPN.

maortega15

Well I thought about downgrading but I fear that if I switch, I will not be able to use the "butterfly" or MSN full software. I'm considering the switch to Gmail but have some concerns before I switch:

-Privacy (I read recently an article on Yahoo that once I sign up for Gmail, that my account will be exposed similar to facebook and everyone can view my profile, etc. I'm trying to keep low key that's one of the reasons I don't have facebook.)

-Windows Messenger (Currently, I am using Windows Live Messenger and chatting with people using yahoo messenger. I have another thread regarding that as Im not sure if I can use Google to chat with yahoo messenger (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ram-query.html))

-Saved emails on MSN (I'm not sure if its possible to transfer saved emails from MSN to Gmail. The emails are stored on my computer rather than MSN. I just open the saved emails using MSN.)

-Accessing Microsoft Services and Support (Whenever the need arises to contact Microsoft for support or sales, they require me to have a Microsoft email address. If I don't have one, they will make one for me and I am trying to have only 1 email address for everything to avoid clutter and confusion. But correct me if I am wrong on this)

drewguy

The biggest "pro" of gmail to me is that it supports IMAP, which means you can synchronize everything across multiple devices (iPhone, iPad, computer at home, webmail).

I believe no other free email provides that.

+1 to gmail spam filtering being excellent (although I of course don't know what it totally rejects, as opposed to sending to spam folder).

aster

Personally as a long-term Hotmail user I cannot stand gmail. It's like moving back to the stone age.

My GF uses it and every time she asks me to access her emails and forward stuff to others it's like pulling teeth.

SRQ Guy

GMail or Outlook.com. I use GMail and love it. I also like outlook.com, but I'm too lazy to switch platforms for my primary email, and with my Android phone it just makes more sense to stay with GMail.

Paying for email, though, is so 1990's.

cordelli

There are quite a few free free e-mails that provide imap support

http://email.about.com/od/freeemailr...pop3_email.htm

or

http://www.emailaddresses.com/email_imap.htm

for example list a few

7Continents

Though I'm a gMail lover, I do have an old hotmail account that I ported to Outlook from MSN. Outlook is a whole lot better and friendlier than Hotmail, but I still prefer the intuitiveness of gMail.

CDTraveler

If I wanted to share my life with the world, I'd sign up for Facebook. I prefer privacy, which is why I'd never use gmail. Don't rely on just an article from Yahoo, do a non-Google search on "Google" and "privacy concerns" - not too long ago they were hit with record fines by the U.S. gov't for privacy violations, the EU is investigating them, the new Google+ is raising red flags with privacy and security people all over, and there are quite a more major concerns regarding Google's practices. Think about it: their core business is harvesting and selling data; why should you expect your email would be exempt from such activity?

aster

Google actually goes through the actual content of your email messages which is quite sickening to be honest. Forget it.

Global_Hi_Flyer

I would argue that it's anything but "free". You give up an immense amount of privacy to Google... and they, in turn, can use any information in any of your emails or associated accounts to sell to marketers that want to reach you (while they may not hand the info over to marketers, they DO target ads based on your info and they do aggregate the info for marketers).

Google's big push recently is to require the use of real names so they can better tie the info to you, personally. They think Facebook (aslo requires real names) has an advantage because of it. They will also push you hard for a phone number or two, also to create more personal dossiers in their users.

I don't know whether G+ is now required if you have an email account or not - they are working toward making G+ mandatory for many things.

All that is worth something. Actually quite a lot.