User Complaint About Existing Services Leads Google to Create Search-Based
Webmail
Search is Number Two Online Activity – Email is Number One; "Heck,
Yeah," Say Google Founders
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - April 1, 2004 UTC - Amidst rampant media speculation,
Google Inc. today announced it is testing a preview release
of Gmail – a free search-based webmail service with a
storage capacity of up to eight billion bits of information, the equivalent
of 500,000 pages of email. Per user.
The inspiration for Gmail came from a Google user complaining about the poor
quality of existing email services, recalled Larry Page, Google co-founder and
president, Products. "She kvetched about spending all her time filing messages
or trying to find them," Page said. "And when she's not doing that,
she has to delete email like crazy to stay under the obligatory four megabyte
limit. So she asked, 'Can't you people fix this?'"
The idea that there could be a better way to handle email caught the attention
of a Google engineer who thought it might be a good "20 percent time"
project. (Google requires engineers to spend a day a week on projects that interest
them, unrelated to their day jobs). Millions of M&Ms later, Gmail
was born.
"If a Google user has a problem with email, well, so do we," said
Google co-founder and president of technology, Sergey Brin. "And while
developing Gmail was a bit more complicated than we anticipated, we're pleased
to be able to offer it to the user who asked for it."
Added Page, "Gmail solves all of my communication needs.
It's fast and easy and has all the storage I need. And I can use it from anywhere.
I love it!"
Today, a handful of users will begin testing the preview version of Gmail.
Unlike other free webmail services, Gmail is built on the idea that users should
never have to file or delete a message, or struggle to find an email they've
sent or received. Key features of Gmail include:
Search: Built on Google search technology,
Gmail enables people to quickly search every email they've ever sent or received.
Using keywords or advanced search features, Gmail users can find what they need,
when they need it.
Storage: Google believes people should be able to hold onto
their mail forever. That's why Gmail comes with 1,000 megabytes (1 gigabyte)
of free storage – more than 100 times what most other free webmail services
offer.
Speed: Gmail makes using email faster and more efficient by
eliminating the need to file messages into folders, and by automatically organizing
individual emails into meaningful "conversations" that show messages
in the context of all the replies sent in response to them. And it turns annoying
spam e-mail messages into the equivalent of canned meat.
According to Page and Brin, Google will make the preview test version of Gmail
available to a small number of email aficionados. With luck, Gmail will prove
popular to them – and to the original user who sparked the idea.
Those interested in learning more about Gmail can visit http://gmail.google.com.
About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the
world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major
global markets. Google's targeted advertising program, which is the largest
and fastest growing in the industry, provides businesses of all sizes with measurable
results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered
in Silicon Valley with offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For
more information, visit www.google.com.
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