YAHOO! Mail : How Yahoo! Mail Compares To Hotmail Services
Written: May 14 '01 (Updated May 14 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: reliable e-mail provider; lighter SPAM load than other services
Cons: lacking in customer support services
The Bottom Line: is that Yahoo! mail services are far better than the services provided by their competitors including Hotmail.
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| phineaskc's Full Review: Yahoo! Mail |
Yahoo! Mail is just one of the free e-mail providers I have used over the years. Like most free service providers, they have some weak areas and we will be discussing both the pros and the cons before you decide to sign up for your own account.
The Signup Process
Already have a name in mind that you want to use? Unless it is extremely uncommon, you can bet it is probably already taken. Yahoo! offers a number of free services and have partnered or taken over several companies on the Internet so their membership to mail services has increased dramatically. Plus you have to factor in that some people sign up for multiple accounts.
Yahoo! tends to tie in all their services so when signing up for say a webpage, they insist that you have a Yahoo! Mail account beforehand.
The signup process is painless with the exception of selecting a name. Just for the sake of this review, I entered the member ID johnsmith, johnjones, jennifer, writer, and pamela. Each of these names were already in use so they offered a couple of alternatives including adding my zipcode to the end of the name.
Once you select a name, they ask you some basic questions including a secret question that only you will know the answer to. This is to recover your password if it is lost or forgotten.
Like other servers, they will ask you if you want to receive announcements or special offers from Yahoo! plus the option to select interests by checking off boxes. I chose to skip this part because I didn't need any more unsolicited mailings from third parties.
Features
Yahoo! Mail offers many of the same features as other free email providers but there are some slight differences.
• 6MB of disk space for e-mail messages. This is far more space than Hotmail services provide at only 2MB of space. There have only been a couple instances where I have received warning messages from the staff at Yahoo! for exceeding my storage limit. The only reason I exceeded the limit is because I was traveling a couple times last year and had no time to check mail so it piled up.
• SSL encryption is offered at both Yahoo! and Hotmail services. Yahoo! offers the choice of either standard signin mode or secure, depending on the speed you desire. Secure mode does take a little longer to download pages. SSL encryption basically takes your login information and scrambles it so it is nearly impossible for anyone to read.
• Multiple Languages are available on both Yahoo! and Hotmail but again, Yahoo! gains points for being more advanced in translations than Hotmail. Yahoo! offers International mail in at least 22 different regions and Hotmail offers just a handful of options. Some of countries that Yahoo! offers services in are Brazil, Japan, Ireland, Australia, and many more.
• Spamguard is Yahoo! mails answer to fighting unwanted or junk email. Basically, Spamguard is a filtering system that automatically determines whether messages received are bulk mail sent from 'SPAMMERS'. These messages are moved to a bulk mail folder. Those messages remain in your provided disk space for 30 days or until you delete them.
• The Options Menu provided by Yahoo! is well organized, offers more capabilities, and is easier to setup than the Hotmail provided options. You access your Options menu after signing in and clicking the tab to the left of your screen. Some of the better features include the ability to block email addresses, send vacation responses, sort incoming mail via filters, and set up Pop mail features.
• Email alerts are sent to account holders that use the Yahoo! Messenger services. Unfortunately, I can't offer much in the way of information on this option since I am not a user of the Messenger service.
Additional Features
Yahoo! Mail has a number of features that can be had for an additional monthly fee.
• Extra Storage Space can be purchased for $19.99 a year. This will increase your space from 6MB to 25MB.
• Personal Address is your own domain name and five email accounts for $35.00 a year.
• Voicemail services are $4.95 a month. This allows you to send and receive messages. You will have access to your email account, voicemail, stock quotes, and more via this service.
Customer Service
In all honesty, both Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail have poor customer support services. There have been times I have contacted them through email to retrieve a lost password or to question system status and never received a response.
The difference in the two services in this area is that Yahoo! offers support from persons they consider to be 'experts'. You can post your questions about services and wait for their answers but don't hold your breath. I am still waiting on an answer to a question I asked over two weeks ago.
Reliability
Both Yahoo! and Hotmail are equal in this area. I have experienced little downtime with either service. The longest period of downtime I experienced was with Hotmail. I had not received any mail for a number of days and then experienced trouble with logging in.
Overall, both services are fairly reliable when it comes to their email services.
Overall Thoughts
Yahoo! is my preferred choice for free email providers. I am more satisfied with their services than that of Hotmail for one primary reason - reduced SPAM. If you read my review of the Hotmail services, you would know that I receive on average approximately 250 emails a day to my Hotmail account. Out of all those messages received, maybe 4-5 actually pertains to me or was written directly to me from persons I know.
Of course I receive SPAM through my Yahoo! mail account but not nearly as often or in mass amounts like I receive through Hotmail.
If you want a free email provider with more features, less SPAM, and few interruptions to service then Yahoo! Mail is my recommendation.
Interested in further comparisons of Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail Services then please be sure to read my other review located at http://hostmidwest.epinions.com/content_22230961796
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
phineaskc
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Member: Pamela
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Reviews written: 211
Trusted by: 375 members
About Me:
"Good lord, who Jiffy-popped her head?"
- Karen from Will and Grace
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