Gmail is different, Gmail is, conversation-based, Gmail is, web-based

Gmail is different

Gmail is web-basedYour messages are stored on Google servers, but you read, write, and organize messages with the Gmail application on your phone or in a web browser. Because your mail is stored on Google servers, you can search your entire message history, backed by the speed and power of Google search.

Actions that you take in one place are reflected everywhere. For example, if you read a message in Gmail on your phone, it’s marked as read in a web browser. And a message that you send using a browser, or even a draft of a message, is visible in Gmail on the phone.

Gmail is conversation-basedEach message and all replies to it are grouped in your Inbox as a single conversation. In other email applications, replies to messages are spread across your Inbox, typically by date received, so a message and the replies to it are separated by other messages. Gmail makes it easy to follow the thread of a conversation.

Gmail is organized by labels, not by folders By tagging messages with labels, you can organize your conversations in many different ways. In other email applications, each message can live in only one folder. For example, with Gmail you can label a conversation with your mother about your brother’s birthday present with both “Mom” and “Dave.” Later, you can look for the message under either label. Using folders, you’d have to store the message in the “Mom” folder or the “Dave” folder, not both.

Gmail for the phone is optimized for mobile: for advanced tasks, use a web browser The best place to organize and learn about Gmail and your Google Account is the web. For example, you can’t use the Gmail application on the phone to create the labels and filters that you use to organize your messages, but you can label a message on the phone. Gmail on the web offers complete information about the service, so it’s the best place to learn about all of the features of Gmail.

Gmail is for Gmail Of course you can use Gmail to send email to any email address, and anyone can send email to you at your Gmail address. But if you want to read messages from another email service provider (using your AOL, Yahoo!, or other email account), you use the Email application. See “Email” on page 207.