alternative email client to Outlook (NOT WEB BASED) please

Hi there

I'm trying to look for an alternative robust email client to outlook -- want to start gradually moving away from Ms Office to cheaper solutions.

I don't like the way Ms is going with subscription based Office 365 and Office 2013 is IMO "The Pits" - office 2010 works fine but I want where possible to start using alternatives. Libre Office is fine for some things but not quite ready for prime time yet (IMO) especially for EXCEL but I can start moving away from office gradually with an email client first.

The email client must NOT be web or browser based (I Hate webmail type of things) and must support IMAP. I don't want it to have ADWARE or NAGWARE (you know those that keep persuading you "Please update to PRO version etc etc"). It must also support MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS. It should ideally have a similar or identical interface to OUTLOOK -- simple plain, not like the background I've seen on some Gamers machines !!!!

If it can integrate with GMAIL that's fine but not mandatory. Preferably free too .

I did see a portable client ISCRIBE at i.Scribe and InScribe: A Small and Easy to use Email Client but it looks as if it might be a little experimental.

I discarded OPERAMAIL -- don't want any BROWSER or web mail type of stuff.

Linux has some decent choices such as EVOLUTION (probably one of the best if not the best) but Windows seems a bit lacking in this area -- pity OUTLOOK EXPRESS wasn't continued after XP -- it was small, simple and could also manage multiple accounts.

Cheers.

jimbo

From my previous post in http://www.eightforums.com/browsers-mail/36504-need-good-email-client.html :

• Mozilla Thunderbird. You might be put off by claims about its future (no more development) but it will still be supported for a long time (stability/security fixes still going on).
• Zimbra Desktop
• Incredimail
• Pegasus Mail
• Opera Mail
• eM Client
• Windows Live Mail / Windows 8 Mail App

When have you tried opera mail last ? It should be separate from the browser today (it still uses the old presto engine while the browser uses the chrome one), check here : Opera Desktop Team - Opera Mail

Thunderbird, and Zimbra are all good choices and should fit your requirements. eM Client is very nice but it supports only 2 mail accounts on free version. Pegasus Mail is quite good but the UI is old now and it doesn't feel like outlook. Incredimail has promotional tag lines in your outgoing email and some ads show up.

Not included in this list is Claws Mail - the email client that bites!, since I never tried it. It seems to be OK, it's open source and works on both linux and windows, the interface looks a bit like outlook express, and it supports multiple accounts and IMAP. It might be what you're looking for.

Thunderbird Development

The statement about no more development started back in July of 2012 when Thunderbird was at version 13. Here we are a year and a half later sitting on version 24.2. I think the email client meets all of the requirements requested so I wouldn't discard it as a viable alternative.

The statement about no development still stands. There is almost no new features (small UI changes). Period. TB follows Firefox versioning, that's not a reliable indication of any new development (it could be thunderbird version 100, that still wouldn't mean much).

That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it just means mozilla is only concerned about bug/security fixes, and if any new feature is requested it is up to the open source community, not the mozilla foundation. But I never understood why people are so attracted by big version numbers and much too frequent updates. Consolidating what's already done is much better IMO, give me a totally bug free app and I'll be much happier, than getting monthly updates for features I never use.

Have you thought about Winmail (it was part of Vista) there was a lot of info on the Windows 7 & Windows 8 forums, however the info seems a tad scarce since Windows 8.1 was introduced, guess people moving over to Outlook.com, the problem with Outlook is it does not interface with Windows Contacts in the user files, plus for me, one BIG failure that I have come across so far it that Outlook.com will not import your contact groups.

Despite all the caveats about using Vista Windows Mail, I continue to use it on my Windows 7 machine and my Windows 8.1 Enterprise(Evaluation version) test machine.
I’ve tried many other mail client versions but Windows Mail Continues to fit my needs best. Come on MS –give it back to us in Win 8.2 J

I'm over storing my own email. I've moved completely to gmail and I would never look back.

I can access my email from any machine, my cell phone, my tablet, from work, from my parents house, from an internet cafe, and I have absolutely NOTHING to backup and ensure that I have saved.