Gmail vs Hotmail

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CutCutCut

1039 posts

Uber Geek

#87921 10-Aug-2011 15:00

Hi,

I'm looking at setting up a domain and email for some family memebers and was planning on using gmail but apparently you can also use hotmail in a similar fashion. Just looking for anybody with experince setting up and using both or one of them. Any experiences good or bad?
I'm hoping to be able to easily integrate the email to a smartphone in the near future too for them. So that's also a consideration.

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61 posts

Master Geek

#504436 10-Aug-2011 15:07

Go with Gmail (Google Apps) - you won't be dissapointed.

It will support pretty much any smartphone well, and has loads of other features (e.g. Google Docs, Sites). Very fast, very reliable.

Of course, if you're on Windows Phone 7 or have lots of other stuff already with various Microsoft entities then Hotmail might be better.

johnr

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#504438 10-Aug-2011 15:08

Gmail all the way

cyril7

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#504441 10-Aug-2011 15:10

+1 Gmail

Cyril

mrgsm021

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#504445 10-Aug-2011 15:12

If the smartphone you intend to use the e-mail service on is an Android, then definitely go with Gmail.

My wife had inherited my SGS and had Hotmail set up on it, although it syncs the contacts, it doesn't sync the calendar. Once contacts are on the phone, you cannot edit or add contacts to it locally, you'd have to edit/add the contact in Hotmail in the web for the changes to take effect after the sync.

So I ended up setting up a new Gmail account for her.

billgates

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#504453 10-Aug-2011 15:19

Hotmail offers the Windows live admin center hub which is where you setup your custom domain for an free email address. It works fine without any issue. You get the 25GB Skydrive for free along with other free hotmail features. In the end it comes down to the email interface you prefer.

I have a windows phone and can pull my emails, contacts and calendar in real time (Exchange active sync). Have no hotmail calendar issues what so ever.

Do whatever you want to do man.

hellonearthisman

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#504461 10-Aug-2011 15:35

And +1 more for GMail.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#504466 10-Aug-2011 15:36

You can use either GMail or Windows Live Hotmail.

Windows Live Hotmail supports ActiveSync, which is used on Windows Phone, iPhone/Ipad and Android, so there's no excuse in the "depends on which phone you have" department.

You set a Google Apps for your domain at http://www.google.com/a and Windows Live Domain at http://domain.live.com.

Windows Live Domain accounts are exactly like other Windows Live account and will have Skydrive storage (25GB on the cloud), can be used to login on Windows Live Messenger, etc.

The only real difference will be if you need multiple email aliases per account, since Windows Live Domain accounts don't have support for aliases.

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jonb

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#504469 10-Aug-2011 15:42

+1 for hotmail.

The new online editing of word and excel docs beats google apps for me. And skydrive. And microsoft doesn't deep search your email messages to serve upadvertising based on what is writted in the email.

freitasm

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#504472 10-Aug-2011 15:45

jonb: And microsoft doesn't deep search your email messages to serve upadvertising based on what is writted in the email.

Ah, GMail Man!

hellonearthisman

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#504501 10-Aug-2011 16:23

That ad is funny but misleading as people who pay for google apps don't get ad's
So there is no machine reading your mail.

ChrisNZL

309 posts

Ultimate Geek

#504514 10-Aug-2011 16:41

I bought a domain name through a NZ registrar and just use Gmail with it, but not through Google Apps - just normal Gmail.

Create any old Gmail address. Then, in your domain registrar's admin settings, create a forwarding email address to that forwards to your Gmail addy.

Then in Gmail, go to Settings > Accounts, and follow the process for "Send mail as". And if set it to use your ISP's SMTP settings, there's no mention of Gmail or Google in the mail's headers ;)

And then you can just use Gmail to receive and send mail using your custom domain email address, without having to pay for Google Apps :)

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