Web-based email

Web-based email or webmail is a term referring to an e-mail service intended to be primarily accessed via a web browser, as opposed to through an email client, such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla's Thunderbird, or Apple's Mail.
One of the earliest Webmail services was Hotmail. Other very popular webmail providers include Yahoo! Mail, Gmail and AOL.
A major advantage of web-based email over application-based email is that a user has the ability to access their inbox from any Internet-connected computer. However, the need for Internet access is also a drawback, in that one cannot access their old messages when they are not connected to the Internet.
In 1997, prior to its acquisition by Microsoft, Hotmail introduced its service, which became one of the first popular web-based email offerings. Following Hotmail's initial success, Google's introduction of Gmail in 2004 sparked a period of rapid development in webmail, due to Gmail's new features such as JavaScript menus, text-based ads, and bigger storage.
Yahoo! released in May 2006, the New Yahoo! Mail, fully Ajax based. Yahoo! Mail is considered by some to have the most powerful interface in comparison to other webmail services. Yahoo! is first provider to offer unlimited storage and also includes drag and drop capabilities, mail search, color personalization. In 2007, Yahoo! integrated messenger into Yahoo! Mail so people can now chat discreetly in Yahoo! mail with Yahoo! and Windows Live messenger contacts. Heavy users receive particular experience with bigger attachments capabilities and live chat support with customer agents. This product is not replacing the old version, Yahoo! Mail Classic. The users have the ability to choose between the two interfaces. Yahoo! Mail is the most popular web-based e-mail service in the world according to Comscore.