Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google.[5] Users may access Gmail as secure webmail,[6] as well as via POP3 or IMAP4 protocols.[7][8] Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004[9] and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though still in beta status at that time.[10] The service was upgraded from beta status on July 7, 2009, along with the rest of the Google Apps suite.[11][12]
With an initial storage capacity offer of 1 GB per user, Gmail significantly increased the webmail standard for free storage from the 2 to 4 MB its competitors such as Hotmail offered at that time.[13] Individual Gmail messages, including attachments, may be up to 25 MB,[14] which is larger than many other mail services support. Gmail has a search-oriented interface and a "conversation view" similar to an Internet forum. Gmail is noted by web developers for its pioneering use of Ajax.[15] Gmail runs on Google GFE/2.0 on Linux.[16][17][18] As of June 2012, it is the most widely used web-based email provider with over 425 million active users worldwide
With an initial storage capacity offer of 1 GB per user, Gmail significantly increased the webmail standard for free storage from the 2 to 4 MB its competitors such as Hotmail offered at that time.[13] Individual Gmail messages, including attachments, may be up to 25 MB,[14] which is larger than many other mail services support. Gmail has a search-oriented interface and a "conversation view" similar to an Internet forum. Gmail is noted by web developers for its pioneering use of Ajax.[15] Gmail runs on Google GFE/2.0 on Linux.[16][17][18] As of June 2012, it is the most widely used web-based email provider with over 425 million active users worldwide