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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