Gmail Becomes the World’s Most Used Email Service Surpassing Hotmail the First Time
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Author:
Sidrah Zaheer
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ComScore email service email service providers email services freedom global active users Gmail Gmail features Hotmail Hotmail features internet technologies internet users microsoft mobile devices MSN Hotmail smartphones Windows Live Hotmail world's most used email service
Microsoft seems to be facing a hard time in the world of internet technologies today. Recently, its email service, Hotmail, was surpassed by Google’s email service, Gmail, to be the world’s most used email service. Both the email services have been on a head-on competition for the past eight years. After coming closer, Gmail has now gone past Hotmail to be the world’s most favourite email service of sorts.
Although email services a country specific when it comes to their popularity and usage, but both Hotmail and Gmail are used by many people and it is hard to decided which one is preferable than the other. Hotmail was first launched in 1996 on the American Independence Day of the 4th of July. The main theme back then for Hotmail was providing internet users freedom from ISP-based email addresses. Seeing its success, Microsoft pounced on to buy it for an estimated $400 million and Hotmail then became MSN Hotmail and later became Windows Live Hotmail in late 2006.
Despite its multiple upgrading through the years by Microsoft and even taking up many features from Google, users did become wary of it. Since the last month of October, the usage of Gmail has dominated over Hotmail. Although many people that I have come across have Hotmail as their email addresses and some do not even have a second email on Gmail, however, Gmail did succeed in getting noticed at the top.
Gmail has also been adding to its features constantly over the years and many have even raised their eye brows in disappointment and disagreement over the changes it makes suddenly without even asking a user. Gmail currently has over 425 million active global users, but according to ComScore, that figure might be a little exaggerated as it says the real number is only 289 million users worldwide. But other means of internet usage, like mobile devices and smartphones as well as internet cafés could account for the missing numbers.
7:54 pm
Outlook interface is much better interface than previous ones. Its also fast and easy to use. I am sure MS will take back its 1st place shortly.
8:01 pm
The new outlook.com is far better than gmail in every sense. It has been leading for more than a decade and i am quite sure it will regain its position.