Looking for a different email service...

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Hokiefyd

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...and possibly a paid one somewhere.

I have Gmail now, and it's okay. They have dropped Exchange ActiveSync support, and now prefer non-Android users to connect via IMAP, CardDAV, and CalDAV. Which in and of itself is good with me; those are open standards that most everyone supports. But still, I find the Google experience to be somewhat lacking for non-Android users, and fear it may get poorer as time goes on. Just as Hotmail/Outlook.com is likely optimized for Windows users and just as iCloud is optimized for Apple users. With as interoperable as these services *should* be, we seem to be moving in the direction of companies trying to monopolize a user's experience... In order to have a consistent experience with something, it seems like you have to convert your devices all to the same brand. I don't want to do that, and shouldn't have to do that.

I'd like to find an email service that is not tied to a hardware manufacturer. Even if I have to pay some, that would be worth it to me to have the same user experience, independent of the device with which I access it. This service would have to support CardDAV and CalDAV as well.

For some reason, I find it hard to find these types of products. Maybe because they've largely gone away due to the plethora of free ad-based email service. I checked GoDaddy.com, but they don't have a great customer service reputation, at least according to the folks with whom I've spoken.

Anyone out there have any ideas? Would upgrading my Gmail account to a paid business account change my user experience, or would it be the same as I have now?
 
I had zero issues with my heavily Google-centric digital life (multiple gmail accounts, shared calendars, etc...) when I was burdened with a Windows phone.

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IIRC Yahoo and GMX both have CalDAV & CardDAV support.
 
I read a review of GMX the other day, but have never heard about it before then. Do you have any experience with GMX?
 
I also have a GMX account (as well as Yahoo, outlook, etc...) and they seem OK at best. Mine lets through an annoying amount of spam, much the same that Yahoo does.
 
I just bought a domain - my last name .net. I use HostMonster (www.hostmonster.com) to host the "website" (really just a landing page) and e-mail. Costs about $100/year. Best thing about a domain is it's yours and it will never change as long as you have it available.

They support IMAP and have Webmail available. Don't think they do CalDAV but the wife and I have iPhones so do that through iCloud anyway.

Companies like Hover.com also will do just e-mail and support other open standards. But they charge by mailbox so it may be more expensive.
 
Its not clear what you want. Privacy? no ads? Small company setup? Local hosting? email forwarding to a local server with a local app?
 
I already have a domain name, and email associated with that, but I don't have contacts or calendar synchronization with that. I am looking to see if I can add that service for an additional fee.

Gmail works okay for what I do, but there are limitations, and I'd like to see if there is another solution. The Gmail app works for push email, but I detest the threaded conversation view. I also don't like how it never deletes anything, but simply relabels it in an "All email" folder. I also don't care for the labeling vs. folder notion in general. It works okay, but I'm trying to see if there's something that fits me better. If Google would re-engineer some of Gmail's behaviors, I'd be more satisfied with it.
 
Local on a PC, IMO windows live mail client is best. Similar to outlook, but the mail folders are sorted separate by user account in the same view. Much better than one big inbox blob for multiple accounts. Has all the other features you need. I have that set to query gmail, comcast, etc, every 2 mins, delete mail it downloads (no copy on server). If the local box fails I'm screwed.

But you add the complexity of a portable app, so that leads back to a mozilla like tool.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
...I detest the threaded conversation view. I also don't like how it never deletes anything, but simply relabels it in an "All email" folder. I also don't care for the labeling vs. folder notion in general...


I used to dislike it as well, but I've grown to really enjoy it. Threaded conversations make tracking the entire exchange of messages much easier.

If you want/need/desire email grouped by subject (like separating them into different folders) then you can set up labels. But their search is so good, I couldn't care less for not having folders.

And I'm very strict about my zero-inbox policy at work, where I'm forced to use outlook. An email will be handled exactly once after it arrives - either deleted or moved into an appropriate folder and marked for my task list - and the inbox remains at zero messages.

Having a hojillion folders is pretty much a requirement for an email client that doesn't have a useful search feature. While that has gotten better in outlook 2010, I only have a working relationship with Microsoft - we use OS X & Linux machines at home.
 
Originally Posted By: scurvy
we use OS X & Linux machines at home.


We have everything at home...well...besides Linux. Three iOS devices, one OS X iMac, one Android tablet, and one Windows laptop. Which is why a third party email service appeals to me. It should look and feel exactly the same across all platforms. I like using the native mail clients the best. Right now, I have my iOS devices set to receive Gmail through the native mail client using the Exchange connection. This is still apparently supported for existing users, but is apparently unavailable to new users. So if we get another iOS device (or even possibly if we upgrade iOS to the newest version when 7 comes out), we may be forced into a new connection and I'd lose the Exchange functionality.

IMAP and Cal/CardDAV would be fine, though. The only thing I lose with IMAP is iOS's IMAP service doesn't support IMAP-IDLE, so there is no push email. It's only fetch for a generic IMAP connection. Maybe that's something that Apple will change with iOS 7.

My preference for folders goes a long way back, and it's probably something that I need to let go of. I still call "folders" on a PC "directories". I'm just used to a very hierarchical filing system (whether that's on a HD or in email). In an intense stroke of irony, I maintan very few email folders in Outlook at work. Most everything just sits in my Inbox and I search things if I need to find them.

Maybe I just need to play around with Gmail a little more and see if I can force it to play how I want it to play.
 
I have been convinced to stay with Gmail. I worked with it some last night and got it working much better.

I tried to connect the iPad to Gmail via the Exchange ActiveSync connection that was reportedly (by Google) discontinued. It works. It didn't work many months ago when I first tried it, but it does now. I don't know why or how, but it works just like it does on my phone. One connection for email/contacts/calendar, and instant push. Fantastic.

This also means that I don't have to use Gmail's app, and can use the unified Mail app on the iPad, which I already know and enjoy on the iPhone. Fantastic.

I also found a mostly undocumented solution by Google to fix the silly behavior where it moves a message to the All Email folder on delete rather than to the Trash folder. You have to go to https://m.google.com/sync/settings from your mobile device to change the behavior to actually trash the email upon delete. So that now works. Fantastic.

So long as Google doesn't physically turn off the EAS connection capability, I'll remain a Gmail user.
 
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