Gmail Invites No Longer Needed
Tomi Häsä
of February 14th, 2007 Gmail has been available worldwide.
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News stories:
>From Gmail with <3
February 14, 2007
"Gmail sign-ups are now open worldwide! No more waiting for someone to
invite you-just create an account directly at www.gmail.com. What
better way to share the love with the people you care about than with
Gmail chat with <3. And Gmail is available in over 40 interface
languages (though <3 needs no translation)."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/from-gmail-with-3.html
Can I sign up without the invitation code? Or without a mobile phone?
"Anyone in the world is now welcome to create a Gmail account at
http://mail.google.com/mail/signup. Enjoy!"
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=22245
Just launched!
"It's a Gmail party and everyone is invited!"
"You can still invite your friends to enjoy Gmail's spam protection,
2.8 GB free storage and other great features, but now you can also
just tell them to visit www.gmail.com and sign up without an
invitation."
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about_whatsnew.html
Gmail Opens to Anyone on Valentine's Day
February 14, 2007
"I know Google could change their mind again, but it seems that Gmail
is finally open to everyone."
"If you don't live in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Brazil,
Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Japan (Gmail is already open
there), go to gmail.com and see if you can create a new account."
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/02/gmail-opens-to-anyone-on-valentines-day.html
Gmail finally opens to all
February 14, 2007
"Google dropped the invitation-only restriction for its Gmail e-mail
service on Wednesday, one of its linchpin applications complementing
its popular search engine."
"Google launched Gmail in April 2004, and the company has been
steadily integrating new features, but the service is still labelled a
beta release. It includes Google Talk, an instant messaging program,
and a calendar, plus other features such as spam filtering."
"Gmail users previously had to pass along invitations to others so
they could register for the service."
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;427432689
GMail opens its doors to the world
February 14, 2007
"GMail, the popular web-based e-mail service provided by Google, is
going global. Today Google announced that new GMail accounts will now
be available to anyone on the planet."
"GMail was launched as a beta service on April 1, 2004, and was
initially available by invitation only. A select group of initial
users were given a number of invites in their mailbox that could then
be sent to friends and family members. The invite-only system allowed
Google to fine-tune the system and helped to keep away spammers."
"In 2005, GMail opened itself to the general public for the first
time, but new users had to provide a mobile phone number capable of
receiving SMS text messages in order to sign up. This restriction was
also touted as a way for Google to limit abuse by spammers."
"GMail has been touted not only for its unusual user interface, which
keeps chains of messages organized in threads, but also for its large
storage capacity. GMail changed the competitive webmail landscape when
they launched by providing 1GB total storage per user. Other free
webmail services, such as Microsoft's Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, were
forced to match this capacity to stay competitive. However, GMail has
since upped the ante by continuing to increase their maximum storage
on accounts, which is now nearing 3GB. GMail also offers the ability
to check e-mail from a mobile phone, as well as a POP forwarding
feature that allows desktop mail clients such as Outlook to check
their mail (Yahoo! Mail also provides these features). Other small
niceties include a quick search bar to scan through your entire
message store, and an "Update conversation" feature that checks to see
if new mail has come in while you were busy typing in a reply to an
older message."
"While GMail was not the first free webmail application, it has
certainly shaken up the competition, most significantly by
establishing 1GB storage capacity as a minimum standard."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070214-8846.html
Google Opens Up Gmail Worldwide
February 14, 2007
"Google on Wednesday plans to open up Gmail, its free e-mail service,
to everyone worldwide."
"In keeping with our tradition of Gmail holiday announcements -- Gmail
was launched on April Fool's Day -- we're inviting everyone worldwide
to share the love this Valentine's Day," said a Google spokesperson.
"Good relationships require good communication, after all, and we
think Gmail is a great tool for staying in touch."
"Google began public testing of Gmail on April 1, 2004. Initially,
Gmail was an exclusive club -- an invitation from another Gmail user
was required. In August 2005, Google opened Gmail up to those willing
to submit a mobile phone number as a means of identity verification
and as a way to limit the number of accounts spammers might be able to
abuse."
"Such concerns no longer appear to be an issue. "Since we launched
Gmail, we've paid particular attention to combating abuse of the
system, including building tools for spam detection and taking
measures to ensure that spammers have a difficult time sending their
spam messages and getting these messages delivered," explained a
Google official. "We are confident in our tools and systems, but also
continue to work on improving them. We know that our users have been
very happy with the small amount of spam they've received in their
Gmail accounts, and we will take necessary measures to ensure that
this remains the case for new and existing Gmail users everywhere." "
"Last week, Google removed the phone number requirement in Africa,
Brazil, Europe, and the Middle East. It remained in place in Asia,
North America, and most of South America until today. Would-be Gmail
users in other countries, including Australia, Japan, and New Zealand,
have been able to sign up for the service without a phone number since
last summer."
"In the United Kingdom, Gmail is known as Google Mail because another
company holds the "Gmail" trademark. Last month, the Office for
Harmonization in the Internal Market, a European trademark body,
rejected Google's appeal in another battle over the "Gmail" trademark
with German businessman."
"Google claims to have "tens of millions" of Gmail users,
significantly fewer than the free e-mail services offered by Microsoft
and Yahoo."
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197005917
Links:
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2007-02-14-n66.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/14/google_email_invites/
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Orchant/?p=351
http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/tradingdesk/archive/2007/02/14/google-s-gmail-now-available-without-invitation.aspx
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Sign_Up_for_Gmail_No_Invite_Needed/551-79132-643.html
http://www.mobilitysite.com/2007/02/gmail_its_not_just_by_invitation_anymore.php
http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/technology/11009083/detail.html
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/9590/53/
http://www.azstarnet.com/business/169070
http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/14200723215.htm
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070214/google_mail.html?.v=2
http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=182982
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-02-14-gmail-for-all_x.htm?POE=TECISVA
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/online/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003545587
http://www.newsday.com/technology/wire/sns-ap-google-mail,0,1104052.story?coll=sns-ap-technology-headlines
http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2007/02/14/google-makes-gmail-web-based-e-mail-available-to-all