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Mail Client

An email client (or MUA as in mail user agent) is a computer program that is used to read and send email. Protocols supported by email clients include POP3 and IMAP. IMAP and the updated IMAP4 are optimized for storage of email on the server, while the POP3 protocol generally assumes that the email is downloaded to the client. The SMTP protocol is used by most email clients to send email. In addition to the fat client email clients presented here, there are also web-based email programs such as Hotmail. America Online also has an email client as a component of it's Internet access program.

Another important protocol supported by most email clients is MIME which is used to send binary attachments. Attachments are files that are not part of the email proper, but are sent with the email.

MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface) is a proprietary Microsoft Windows API which can be used to access the Microsoft Exchange email server or to interact with the Microsoft Outlook client.

Javamail, part of the platform-independent Java API, can be used to develop email clients or servers using any of the standard email protocols.

Here is a list of some email clients, in alphabetical order by operating system.

Mac OS:

• Eudora
• Gnus (GPL)
• M2, the client in the Opera web browser
• Netscape Messenger
• Microsoft Outlook and its cut-down version, Outlook Express
• Microsoft Entourage
• Mail (Provided with Mac OS X)
• Pine
• Thunderbird (formerly Minotaur), the stand-alone client derived from the Mozilla browser suite

Microsoft Windows:

• Akira22
• Forté Agent
• The Bat!
• Becky! Internet Mail
• Bloomba
• Brightmail
• Datula
• Delta Mail
• EdMax
• Eudora
• Eureka Email
• Gaucho
• Gnus (GPL)
• Novell's Groupwise
• IncrediMail
• M2, the client in the Opera web browser
• Mozilla
• NetMail
• Netscape Messenger
• nPOP
• nPOPQ
• Nuvista Email
• Microsoft Outlook (various versions) and Outlook Express
• Pegasus Mail
• Pine
• PlexMailer
• Blueprint PMMail
• Thunderbird (formerly Minotaur), the stand-alone client derived from the Mozilla browser suite
• Sylpheed-claws (Windows version of Sylpheed) (GPL)
• Thunderbird
• TuruKame Mail
• Visual Mail
• VSMail Client
• WeMail32
• WinBiff
• WinMail

Unix/Linux:

• Elm
• Elmo (GPL)
• Ximian Evolution (GPL)
• Gnus (GPL)
• Kmail (GPL)
• Mutt (GPL)
• M2, the client in the Opera web browser (as of Opera 7.21 also available for Linux)
• Netscape Messenger
• Pine
• Sylpheed (GPL)
• Thunderbird (formerly Minotaur), the stand-alone client derived from the Mozilla browser suite

Palm OS:

• Eudora
• Palm VersaMail (Included with the Tungsten series of handhelds and the Zire 71 handheld)

Pocket PC:

• Pocket Outlook

Web Based Email

• cbConnect - by CanyonBridge
• Outlook Web Access (OWA) - by Microsoft

External links

• imap.org's list of products supporting IMAP (http://www.imap.org/products/)
• John De Hoog's list of Japanese email clients (http://www.dehoog.org/html/j-email.html)