The two most popular methods for email are web based email, and a local email client installed on a computer.

The most popular email client is Microsoft Outlook and the stripped down version Outlook Express. The latter is free with a Windows Operating System.

The big 3 web based emails are MSN's Hotmail, Yahoo! and Google's Gmail. As long as you have an Internet connection and a browser, whether it's Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer, your email is available anywhere, anytime.

Now that Gmail supports IMAP, by combining it with Outlook, here are 5 powerful and productivity tips when used together:

1) Organize with Outlook features: Folders, Rules, and Organize by Color

Your Labels appear as folders in Outlook IMAP. All of your mail will appear in the main Inbox, but if you have a Label assigned to it, it will be viewed in a separate folder. You can have rules setup, which is more comprehensive than the filter and forward offered in Gmail. Colors are more visual than plain text compared to labels in Gmail.

2) Sort by Sender or File size quickly

Your mail data or headers are stored locally, so sorting is much faster, depending on your computer. By default, mail is sorted by date, newest on top. But if you wanted to sort by file size, it is one click of a button. Sorting or searching by web based email can be slow at times.

3) Consolidate some features in LinkedIn and Facebook into Outlook Contacts

The LinkedIn Toolbar for Outlook adds a small "info" link to each of your email messages. If that person is personal LinkedIn contact, their details will be shown. If not, you can search LinkedIn get their full public profile and resume online providing they are on LinkedIn. It also has a "grabber" where you can highlight a few lines of their email signature, parse it properly into your contacts, then be synchronized to your Blackberry. No more OCR scanners from paper business cards! With Facebook becoming more and more popular, you can use third party software like Fonebook to import photos and birthdays. It doesn't add their email contacts, so you would have to drag and drop a new email into Contacts first before synchronizing.

4) Extra layer of SPAM protection

Gmail has an exception anti-spam protection. However, I still do get a few emails for the little blue pill. On the email, simply right click, select Junk email, then add sender to the Blocked Senders List or Safe Senders List. Alternatively, you can add or block the Sender's domain to safe senders list.

5) Synchronize Outlook to your Blackberry or PDA wireless device.

Synchronize your Outlook contacts with your Blackberry or other smart phones. The Gmail mobile application for the Blackberry does not synchronize the address book.

About the Author

Jimson Lee works as an Information Technology Consultant specializing in Infrastructure Management, Services & Security. Expertise includes: CRM and Help Desk Software.

He is also a contributing writer for My Personal CMO and BeSafeInsure.com