AOL email features - email account basics

Eventhough the once popular free AOL email service has been overshadowed in recent years by Gmail and Yahoo!Mail, it's still as good as it's competitors in terms of quality (read the best email service). In fact, in certain aspects AOL email is a shade better. Below are some of the important features of the free email account from AOL.

AOL email Storage space

Just like Yahoo! Mail, AOL offers unlimited email storage which means you no longer need to delete messages. However, as the more astute amongst you know nothing is 'unlimited' in this world - it's just a marketing strategy and surely sounds better than 10GB or 100GB, right?

Email attachment size in AOL

Email attachments can be up to 25MB in size which is at par with Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail (now known as Outlook Mail).

Email organization

Gmail has labels (quite handy once you get used to them), but the majority still prefers organizing email messages in folders. AOL lets you create your own folders quite like Yahoo and Hotmail.

Filters and automated email sorting

If you haven't used AOL filters, you're missing out on a lot of convenience and time savings. Filters can automatically sort incoming messages into folders. I sincerely believe any email service or program worth its salt should have this feature... and all the popular ones do!

Spam and junk email filter

All email account holders need to live with one of the greatest scourge of the web - SPAM! It's heartening to know that the AOL spam filters stand up to the job quite well.

Email stationery

Send messages in style using AOL email stationery. Yahoo! Mail too has this feature but not the other two biggies, Hotmail and Gmail.

Email signature

Simple text signatures and also those that include images and links! Read how to create an email signature at AOL for more.

Themes

You can customize the look of the webmail interface using the available themes. Though these are not as "extensive" as Hotmail or Gmail themes, they do help break the monotony of looking at the same colors and images!

Messages - Instant and Text

AOL lets you send Instant Messages or text messages (to cell phones) directly from the email account.

POP and IMAP access for free!

POP and IMAP are popular email protocols through which you can download email messages using standalone programs. Once the messages are stored at your machine, they are available even without an internet connection. Learn how to set up an AOL email account in your chosen email program. At the time of writing, the only other popular email service that offers both POP3 and IMAP for free is Gmail.

These were just some of the important features. Get your own free AOL email account and I'm sure you'll fall in love with it.