This post will probably make people think I am insane for bring up such a small issue. But little things bother me, and this little thing has bothered me for years, and I have been waiting for Microsoft to fix this. No matter what email client you choose to use, there is a set of basic features that all must support. Once you start looking at competitve advantages, little features make the difference.
Target for today’s discussion: Windows Live! Hotmail
As a synopsis (to those who don’t want to read the whole post): Unlike all of its major competitors, Hotmail does not allow users to mark emails as unread within the context of reading an email. As a secondary, they provide buttons that don’t actually do anything.
I will also look at some competitors: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Facebook’s Message Inbox
The left navigation area of 4 popular message/email clients
I use a lot of email clients, gmail/hotmail mainly. I also use 2 other lesser known clients but mostly to keep up on innovations in the UI etc. Over the years, (after gmail came out) Yahoo! Mail seemed to be the only client that made improvements or drastic changes to their interface.
I took this above screenshot because it demonstrates how I (and many others) use email. I generally try to keep my email box with 0 unread emails. As it gets closer to Friday my work inbox sometimes gets up to 10, but I am pretty good keeping it low. When I read a message and realize it is too long to read at the current moment, I mark it as unread. Similarly, if there is an important email, with vital information I will need in the near future, I will mark it as unread. Some clients allow the ability to mark or flag as important/follow up. Most clients allow folders for organization. Depending on the user’s level of organization they may have their own way of dealing with such messages. Personally, I like to mark anything as “unread” until I have fully closed off all ties with that particular issue. It is the one thing that at the end of the day, reminds me there is something outstanding (The big number beside my inbox).
Ian Chan's Blog 