Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Outlook versus Gmail versus Mail on Android devices.

A while ago I wrote myself some notes on the advantages and disadvantages of Outlook, Gmail and the built-in email client apps on my Android based mobile phone. I thought I'd share those notes in case it helps others.

Outlook v Gmail v mail

Outlook
- does not show active link for hyperlink address
- if only email client Google Chrome does see it as default. Tries to set up new account. For email links.
- no notification for new emails. Have to use widget instead
+ layout clear
+ don' feel Microsoft scanning all emails
+ Appears to update better than Gmail
- No badge count
- sent url does not create link for Gmail receiving.

Gmail
+ converts url to link
+ works with Chrome email links
- feels like Google scanning all emails.
- No badge count
- really terribly slow at refreshing. Need to manually refresh by pull down. E.g. deleted items stay shown until sync.

Mail
- Crashes frequently
+ Works well as default
+ badge count
- need to disable so other choices shown for mailto links.

Overall I've found none of the three email clients does what I want so it's a compromise. The built-in email client is the client I end up using the most. I also use the Gmail app separately for my Gmail account only. Outlook I've tried but generally end up deleting the app.

Kelvin Eldridge
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IT support.