AOL/AIM is now offering free email. I signed up for one yesterday. If you already have an AIM username, you can access your webmail at http://mail.aol.com/.
And today, I found out that it also provides IMAP access. I tested the IMAP connection with Outlook Express and it works nicely. The settings are:
IMAP server: imap.aol.com
Port: 143 (default port)
As far as I know, no other email service – Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail and even Yahoo Mail Plus do not offer IMAP access. I think Outlook Express can be configured to access Hotmail but I am not sure if it is POP or IMAP, or whether it works for all free accounts.
btw, Fastmail does offer free IMAP access but provides only 10 MB storage space.
I will test AOL/AIM mail for some more time and I will post my experiences here.
Related Links:
– 06/06/2005: AOL Launches Free Email Service (CNN Money)
– 05/05/2005: Yahoo now offers 1 GB email space
– 11/16/2004: Gmail POP access
Useful, Informative, Interesting