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The Bottom Line
Some may find the message editor lacking a bit in power, and the absence of support for encrypted email is unfortunate.
Pros
- Opera is a slick, small, fast and secure email client and RSS feed reader
- Mail shows up in all relevant places automatically and can be searched with speed in Opera
- Opera comes with a precise spam filter and smart folders that presorts mail learning by example
Cons
- Opera lacks HTML support in outgoing emails
- Secure message signing and encryption are not supported by Opera
- Opera does not offer flexible message templates and advanced automation
Description
- Opera provides access to multiple POP and IMAP accounts as well as RSS feeds.
- Messages show up in all relevant places (folders, contacts, saved searches,...) automatically.
- Opera offers mail filters (including folders that auto-learn) and labels to further organize mail.
- The integrated spam filter of Opera learns from your classifications and spots junk mail precisely.
- Opera includes an address book, shows sender icons, and lets you concentrate on one easily.
- Supports TLS/SSL connections, can be configured to prefer plain text, not download inline images.
- A "quick reply" feature lets you compose and send a reply without opening a separate compose window.
- Opera supports Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/3/XP/Vista, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris.
Guide Review - Opera 9.6 - Free Email Program
Opera is not only an efficient browser, its email client is also a great interface to email that includes a number of powerful, nice ideas.The best idea are Opera's "access points". Each message shows up in all the places where it makes sense: under the sender, in searches (which are saved automatically), in smart folders that learn by example, and so on. In concert with message labels this allows for efficient mail handling, and the reasonably precise, adaptive Bayesian spam filter keeps the junk out.
Another smart feature is Opera's integration of RSS feeds in the email interface, which makes it convenient and efficient to browse news sites and blogs.
When it comes to composing email messages, Opera is less feature-rich, unfortunately. The lack of HTML editing is a lesser sin, but message templates are missing, too. Most importantly, email security (encryption and signing) would make a great addition.
This shortcoming aside, Opera is a highly secure and privacy-conscious email client with good ideas implemented in a straight forward and elegant manner.
