iCloud email vs Gmail?

Not at all. I tried to make the switch, but I went back to gmail after a few weeks. iCloud is unreliable, just check all the threads about that. Even if you don't use iCloud as your primary account for email, I think you can still use it for your primary account for notes (you can do that in Lion, I'm not sure about ML).

I wouldn't say that it's completely unreliable. I'd say it's been at least 95% available to me. While Gmail does have great uptime it has it's share of problems as well.

I have both, and after going back and forth I've stayed with iCloud mail. I just like having everything in one place. My opinion? Try it out. You've got nothing to lose!

As enticing as it sounds to have everything in one place with iCloud, I'd recommend holding off on switching from Gmail. Better security, greater reliability, actual spam filtering, and a significantly better web interface make Gmail far superior for your emailing needs. I have used Apple's email service since MobileMe's rocky beginnings, and I have never been completely satisfied. At least Gmail is a priority for Google, because the mail service is obviously an afterthought to Apple.

MasterHowl said:

Ah right, I didn't realise it was unreliable... in what way is it? Servers crashing, mail not appearing etc?

I don't think you can do notes through Lion at the moment, but I really hope you can when ML comes out... I use iCloud for my contacts, calendar, reminders etc, and gmail just for emails.

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Servers are down quite often. It's ok 99% of the time, but when you need to look at your email and you're in the other 1% of the time, it's not funny at all. Gmail is (almost) never down. iCloud spam filter is also unreliable.

In Lion, you can access Notes from Mail.app. You can set your primary account in Mail -> settings -> composing -> addressing.

I don't know what the heck these other guys are talking about. I've never found iCloud mail to be unreliable. I'm not saying they have never had trouble, only I haven't.

I find Gmail to be a typical Google product that some people love, other people hate. I'm closer to the hate side. I find their system of tagging your mail silly and confusing. As a result I've lost lots of mail from my account with them. If they were only normal like most mail systems that wouldn't have happened. I have moved most all of my mail to iCloud. The only time I give someone my Gmail account is when I don't trust them yet.

Ultimately, this is your decision so why not try out using both and see what happens?

Excellent advice.

iCloud vs. Gmail discussions around here can get as heated as PC vs. Mac discussions! Try them both, go with what you like. There is no wrong answer!

(I'm on the fence - I end up going back and forth!)

MasterHowl said:

I currently use Gmail as my email provider, and I'm considering completely switching to iCloud email. Has anyone made this switch, and would you recommend it?

I'd like to switch because it'll be one less account to manage, and I'll be able to sync notes across iCloud to my Mac when Mountain Lion comes out.

Is it worth it?

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After two frustrating years with MobileMe, and a short few months on iCloud, I still cannot trust Apple to keep the service up and running on a consistent basis. With a bit of luck at some point in the future, perhaps Apple will finally "get it" when it comes to cloud services. Until then you are far better off with anything but iCloud. I've used Gmail for years and find it better than any of the other web based email choices.

That said, I will admit I've also used Google, Azure, Dropbox and other cloud services. These have me spoiled since they work so well and are very reliable. They also offer total control over my data, something that Apple does not allow.

It's _MY_ data, why it's an everything or nothing proposition when restoring via iCloud, is nothing more than an example of Apple's obsession with control over their users. Due to the fact that iCloud is deeply integrated in Apples desktop and mobile operating systems, they have their hooks in most everything.

My biggest issue is the syncing across multiple devices. If I read email on my iPhone, my iPad still shows an unread email until I open it up. With Gmail, it syncs perfectly. Plus the iCloud web interface is horrible. All of the other iCloud services are great though!

jazoi said:

My biggest issue is the syncing across multiple devices. If I read email on my iPhone, my iPad still shows an unread email until I open it up. With Gmail, it syncs perfectly. Plus the iCloud web interface is horrible. All of the other iCloud services are great though!

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+1

That's why I use my gmail address and just use my @me.com for shared calendar notifications on iCloud.

I migrated from gmail to icloud a few days ago, happy with it. Better and simple interface and faster.

Gmail was the best until about a few years, no it lost its simplicity got complicated and I do not like the new interface.

jazoi said:

My biggest issue is the syncing across multiple devices. If I read email on my iPhone, my iPad still shows an unread email until I open it up. With Gmail, it syncs perfectly. Plus the iCloud web interface is horrible. All of the other iCloud services are great though!

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Same. Gmail is my main one.

Notes are inside the Mail app in Lion; all they are doing in Mountain Lion is separating it from the Mail app and making it a stand-alone app.

My notes get synced to the Notes tab of the Mail app; don't know if it's iCloud or w/ syncing though.

MasterHowl said:

Hello everyone,

I currently use Gmail as my email provider, and I'm considering completely switching to iCloud email.

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I've had no icloud reliability issues and am currently in the process of switching.

Calandar works better I find.

UKBeast said:

I migrated from gmail to icloud a few days ago, happy with it. Better and simple interface and faster.

Gmail was the best until about a few years, no it lost its simplicity got complicated and I do not like the new interface.

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Same here. I switched and have no regrets. No syncing or continuity problems. The web interface seems a bit slower than Google's, but I don't use the web interface much so that's not a concern. I got tired of Google reading my email to target and sell ads. Yes, Apple is not perfect on privacy either, but I'm moving away from Google where possible.

I've been a long time user of Gmail. Had it since 2004 when it was in beta. Got a whole bunch of people to switch to Gmail and using web interfaces for email over the years. And even though I was a MobileMe member, I still mostly used Google's stuff.

That all changed with iCloud and the new Mail.app. If you like Mail.app on the Mac, do not walk... run and get iCloud. The experience is soooo much better. I never liked Mail.app before until the Mail 5 release in Lion. But now with iCloud everything integrates and works so much better than Gmail, the native app is better than using a browser, and iDevice support is better.

The problems with Google's stuff on a Mac or iDevice are too numerous to mention. There are problems with the integration as far as syncing, compatibility, feature support, etc. And it needlessly adds complexity such as things only being fully supported or working one way in the browser, another on the Mac, and yet another way on your iDevices. You have to deal with and remember all the caveats.

I have completely switched from Google to iCloud now and haven't looked back. Still love my Google Search and Youtube though!

Keep both

The level of my trust is reflected in which email domain I give out. @mac for family, very close friends. One Gmail for friends and another for professional contacts. Hotmail means I think you'll sell my info to spam providers. Yahoo! if I know you're going to sell my info. Facebook if I never want to hear from you again.

I switched and the only real difference I see thus far is the Apple's Spam filter isn't as robust as Googles or any other email vendor's for that much. I do notice that sending outgoing email through mail sometimes does not want to go through but I think that is more on the Apple mail side.

I have switched from Gmail to iCloud and no way back . Gmail was getting too Google+ as it tried to force me to create a Google+ account and all sort of things. With iCloud, you just create it and nothing else. Also, as it works as your Apple ID, it is more useful. About this unreliability, I don't get it. I have had only once mail unavailable and that was fixed quickly. Also, push is now very important to me. Before, I even didn't realize it. And web mail on Google is just a mess, as iCloud is very application-like. I would immediately switch to iCloud as I think that it won't take long until you have to sign to Google+ as well, which I never want to do

I use iCloud Mail in maybe a different way the most. I have a company mail account where most of my mail goes and I have a lot of folders (I mean a lot). We use GoDaddy Mail and the Rules if pretty powerful. What I do is send a copy of my mail to my iCloud account where it all goes into the inbox and I get that mail much faster because of the PUSH. I have considered switching completely to iCloud but it does not PUSH anything but what is in the Inbox. I.E. If I setup a rule to move the mail from the inbox to another folder I will not get the alert for that folder. I have to manually check that folder on my iPhone and iPad. I believe it would in the Mac Mail.app but not on the iPhone (my GoDaddy IMAP on the Mac shows if I have unread mail in all folders). Has this changed and if not how do others handle this. I believe Windows Hotmail will allow you to set which folders get PUSH on the iPhone and maybe Google Mail does as well. My biggest grip with Google is the use of Labels for Folders instead of simply using folders.

Everything about Google's cloud is better than iCloud, especially the email (and I've been trying Apple's stuff since the old iDisk days....)

I switched to iCloud email fairly recently from Gmail. I set up my Gmail to automatically forward all my Gmail emails to my iCloud account so the transition would be smoother. Everything works fine, and now I have push email notifications on my iPhone (this was one of the reasons I switched, the Mail.app didn't have push for Gmail.)

I had one issue where I emailed somebody some stuff and it never got through to them. I then sent the same email to the person's friend and they received it immediately (they were both using the same email service.) I don't know what the issue was, but besides this, iCloud has been fine for me.

I haven't had any problems with receiving emails, and I haven't run into iCloud not working or crashing. It works well and gives me everything I need (and want.)

I currently use iCloud as my main email and love it! However, it every once and a while won't let me send messages for a few minutes. The only reason I still have my Gmail account is because it's my Apple ID (Apple won't let you add you @me.com email as your primary ID). We'll see how that changes tomorrow