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- Windows Live Mail comes with reasonably effective spam filtering and fast message search
- You can access MSN Hotmail and Windows Live Hotmail accounts
- Windows Live Mail integrates a calendar, instant messaging and RSS feeds
- Windows Live Mail does not offer custom smart folders
- You cannot organize your mail using labels or reply with templates
- Windows Live Mail can be a bit slow in parts, especially with IMAP accounts
- Windows Live Mail lets you manage POP, IMAP and Windows Live Hotmail accounts as well as RSS news feeds.
- Search folders aggregate certain messages from different accounts and sources in one place.
- Fast search makes it a snap to find emails (within accounts) in Windows Live Mail.
- Spam and phishing filters send or block unwanted or dangerous content.
- Windows Live Mail uses your Windows Live Hotmail and Messenger address book.
- You can use Windows Mail stationery in Windows Live Mail or send photo emails to share images.
- Windows Live Mail blocks remote content by default, and you can choose to read all mail as plain text.
- Simple rules can sort incoming mail or forward it, for example. You can flag messages for later.
- Integration with Windows Live Calendar lets you turn emails into appointments easily.
- Windows Live Mail supports Windows XP/Vista/7.
You can access your Windows Live Calendar in Windows Live Mail comfortably, but interaction is spotty. Using fast Windows Desktop Search you can find emails fast, but Windows Live Mail does not relate messages to each other and contacts easily.
Search folders can aggregate all unread mail, for example, but you cannot define your own terms. You can post to a Windows Live Spaces blog, but not really from within Windows Live Mail.
All right: enough of the names. As an email application, Windows Live Mail is pretty good. Its IMAP support could be a lot snappier, but basically all of POP, IMAP and Windows Live Hotmail accounts are supported well.
Solid spam and phishing filtering is applied to all, and the existing search folders are useful. When sending email, you can use Windows Mail stationery for creative expression or create photo messages. In the latter, you can choose from a number of borders, and the full images are posted to a web server to keep the emails small.
Integration with Windows Live Messenger lets you send instant messages, well, instantly. The address book used by Windows Messenger is also your Windows Live Messenger or Hotmail address book and synchronizes automatically.
Sponsored links and web search results automatically constructed from keywords in emails and displayed alongside them can be turned off.
