Juno is one of North America's leading Internet Service Providers. And, with low prices, a connection guarantee, and a promise to refund your money if you're not satisfied, it's quickly becoming one of the most popular, too. Which is not bad at all for an ISP that, in addition to its paid services, offers non-customers free ad-supported internet connection.
However, one of Juno's best features is still Juno Webmail.
Juno Webmail allows Juno users to check their email on the web from any location in the world! Basically, as long as you're connected to the Internet, you can check your Juno Webmail. This is especially convenient for people who travel for business, and find themselves accessing the internet anywhere from Los Angeles to Sydney, and students, who may use their school and library connections just as much as their Juno connection at home.
Juno Webmail is also simple to use. Although this might not be a major concern for those of us who are more internet savvy, I'm sure it's very important for people who want to simply send and receive emails without all the fuss that the internet can easily give us. Unlike most other webmail interfaces, Juno's is intuitive and hassle-free.
Finally, Juno paying members can configure their favourite email clients, like Microsoft's Outlook, to work with Juno Webmail.
What is Juno Webmail?
Is Juno Email Free?
Juno email is available to both paying and non-paying Juno users—but there are differences!
One of the caveats of using Juno Webmail while being a Juno Free user, for example, is that, unless you upgrade your membership, you can't use your Juno email account through an email client like Outlook, Eudora, or Thunderbird. You can only use the web interface.
But, don't fret.
You can always connect to the internet through Juno's free service and use a service other than Juno Webmail to send, receive, and manage your email. Simply because you use Juno as an ISP does not mean you have to use their webmail system.
The internet offers many alternative free webmail solutions!
Webmail Email
Because Juno Webmail is not for everyone, and even not for every member of Juno's free internet deal, here are four popular free webmail alternatives:
Yahoo Web-based Email
I've used Yahoo's free webmail email, and haven't had any major problems. The interface is clean and easy to use, and the server's stability is excellent. Organization is also good, with pre-existing spam and trash folders, and the ability to make your own, as well. Plus, although it's pure aesthetics, you can even customize the colors of your webmail!
One of the downsides of Yahoo webmail, however, is the amount of advertising you have to put up with. It's not extremely obtrusive, but it's not pretty, either, and clutters up your screen. Yahoo's new links aren't terribly useful, either. If you want news, go to Yahoo's front page. Or, better yet, go to a real news site. Finally, Yahoo will suspend your email account if it's inactive for three months. If you want a webmail account that you won't check too often, this might be a hassle.
Rating: B+
MSN Hotmail
Microsoft's webmail service is quite popular. If you have MSN Messenger, you already have a Hotmail account, too. It's the same login.
Overall, Hotmail reminds me of an inferior Yahoo. It's less transparent to use, and the whole Microsoft passport login drives me a bit bonkers. True, Yahoo's email login gets you logged into the whole of Yahoo (games, chat, etc.), but it's nowhere near as cumbersome as the MS login. Organizing your messages isn't as simple as with Yahoo, either, as Hotmail doesn't have the folder or label options that Yahoo does.
On the brightside, integration with Outlook is quick and painless.
Rating: C-
FastMail Webmail
Probably the best free webmail service that you haven't heard about. It's all about speed and ease with FastMail, as the name suggests. It's also quite flexible, has IMAP support, and the web interface is relatively ad-free and pretty damn dandy.
My biggest gripe, however, is the lack of storage space. A 10MB free account is way too little!
Rating: B
Google Gmail
It used to be that everyone had a Yahoo account. Nowadays, most people have Gmail. And the shift, because I know you're wondering, was completely justified.
Unlike FastMail, Google's webmail has pretty much unlimited storage space! Google even gloats that you'll never have to delete another message again. Privacy issues and info accumulation aside, this is fantastic. You can now keep and later retrieve a message you received two years ago by, simply enough, typing in a search string. As with Yahoo, but to an even greater extent, you can also, of course, organize your mass amount of email in folders and using labels. Everything runs like a breeze and looks great in that Google minimalist way. I hate clutter, and Gmail is about as uncluttered a webmail email client as I've found.
As an added bonus, Gmail has recently added a chat option, too. So that if you log into your account, want to send a message to your friend Stan and see that Stan's now online (if he has a Gmail account of his own and is logged into it), you can PM him. The chat then opens in a small box, and you can send messages back and forth. As with regular email, Gmail saves these for later reference.
One naggging problem that I wish would be addressed by Google, however, is the lack of an undo button!
Rating: A
I hope one of these catches your fancy and suits your needs. Juno webmail is a good free webmail email, but it's not the best, by far.
