This is a two-sided entry, in that I'm going to attempt to explain my love for a particular Google email product while tempering that with some respectful fear of the juggernaut that is Google.As some folks may be aware I used to be a die hard user of Microsoft Outlook for all my PIM and email activities. I didn't use is so much because I thought it was the best, but it was something I used on a daily basis at work, and I wasn't paying much for it either. Familiarity does have its privilege, and it made me a more efficient user at work as well. Outlook was (and still can be) a good option for many folks wanting to achieve a higher level of organization in their life, but only with hard work and a higher understanding of where your own strengths and efficiencies lay. Without extensive tweaking, Outlook sucks right out of the box, and always has. The Power, as with most Microsoft Office products, lies in the flexibility of the software. If you don't take the time to mold it to your needs first, you are really wasting a couple hundred dollars. There have been many Add-Ins devised for Outlook to make the jump to a higher level of productivity easier, but I became aware of them long after I had already made my own similar modifications for use at work. Oops!
When Gmail (still in Beta to this day) came along, like many other local email clients, Google refined the interface to allow more organization. The best part was that it was a web app, so you could access the same information almost anywhere. It literally puts any other POP-based email from your ISP to shame, and still takes the cake compared to the cluttered (and usually advertising laced) competition from most other webmail hosts.
The most powerful of Gmail's features are Filters. Using filters you can let the service sort your email for you, assigning labels, forwarding or replying, even deleting incoming email as you decide necessary. Some folks adhere to a task-based form of email sorting called Inbox-Zero, which makes use of deleting or archiving email you don't need in front of you anymore to do whatever job you are doing. Gmail does this exceedingly well. I don't follow these rules quite so vigorously, but I do archive (after labelling) any advertising to remove it from my inbox view. This keeps all of my inbox email limited to purchase transactions, voicemail alerts, and personal corespondence.
Another handy feature of Gmail is the ability to use "aliases". You can add extra text in the middle of your Gmail address to differentiate it for different purposes or senders. Check here for an example. I use "+voicemail" to let the filters know to label voicemail alerts appropriately, and "+shopalerts" for alerts from Dealnews and Pricegrabber.
The latest set of features is an expansion of the Google Labs concept, but for Gmail exclusively. Gmail Labs givs you access to potential Gmail features which may or may not make it into Gmail on a "permanent" basis later on. The ones I make use of rearrange the interface to make my most used functions more available. I move the labels above the contacts, set the reply button to default to reply-to-all, and add a Mark-as-Read button on the toolbar.
As with any "productivity" tool, a lot of the tool's strength lies in its ability to integrate with other applications. Google has made Gmail a central player in their "suite" of tools, making it a conduit for their Calendar, Apps, and Groups applications, and fully integrating Google Talk (now with AOL IM) into the interface as well.
And now for the dark side: Yes, Google has me. I share everything with them. And everything you share with me is then, by extension, shared with them as well. They are my Big Brother, but for the moment I am happy to play guinea pig if it means they can continue to make better tools and widgets to make my life easier. Thanks Google.
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