I was officially introduced to this website quite by chance. I had opened my first email account at rediff though I never used it. I started using Hotmail and really liked it. I started swearing by Hotmail. I still like it a lot. But, now that I’ll have to shift base to another city where I won’t have a PC and will have to survive on the slow net connections of Cyber cafes, I started looking for a faster alternative for my mailing solutions.
At the end of a harrowing search, which included reading MS reviews, I zeroed on 2 mailing services, Rediffmail and Fastmail.fm. I chose Rediffmail because of 2 reasons:
1.Rediff provides lots of add-on services unlike fastmail
2.It is more popular
So, here started my official journey at Rediff.
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Rediff on a whole can be given 7/10. That is above average but still not up to it’s full potential. But, some of the services are so very good that you cannot help putting it at the TOP.
I’ve tried to give a gist of features available at Rediff here. Some of the features are not included just because I’ve not used them and it is against the principle of MS to write reviews based on what you hear.
Pls. this is an India-centric review.
1.Rediffmail
My 2 weeks experience of using Rediffmail says just one thing. It’s still not the best but can be The Best.
Rediffmail is really fast. You click send here and your recipient gets your mail. Yes, it’s lightening fast. It’s interface is really cool and easy to use. Unlike yahoo and Hotmail, it takes you directly to Inbox and thus saves your time. Moreover, it gives 1GB of storage space and 10MB limit for attachments which is really awesome.
But, regarding features of mailing, it has many drawbacks. Compared to Hotmail and Yahoo, it lacks in the following areas:
i. It does not have a graphic option for signature and the graphic option for Compose cannot be made as Default.
ii. One cannot customize the look of the Inbox. Eg. you cannot decide the no. of mails you want to see per page.
iii. It has a Briefcase and Calender option only for paid users. There is no space provided for storing files.
iv. One cannot see the advanced headers of mails.
v. In general, there are many less options provided than other popular services.
But, if you are a casual email user, then Rediff is the best you can get.
News
In general the news section is updated regularly. Also there are special tabs provided for the latest ongoing events such as Asia Cup, Olympics etc. the news section has much scope of improvement.
All in all, a decent channel. Though a tie-up with some popular news-service( like the tie-up between Hotmail and NDTV) will be appreciated.
Shopping
I’ve never shopped at Rediff. So, I can’t tell much about it. Though there are many reviews at MS especially targeted at Rediff Shopping Services
Movies, Music, Sports, Jobs, etc
These sections are good and up to date. New articles are posted everyday which makes them really nice. The section carries more than enough information for a ’’general site’’
My Fav. Sec. : Internet Life
This is my favourite section at Rediff. It carries all the latest happenings in the world of web and carries some awesome articles. Visit it and you’ll really like it. This is THE BEST that I’ve ever seen on net.
Rediff Blogs
This is a real cool feature which allows user to publish just anything on web. many of you reading this should already be familiar with Blogging. For those who doesn’t know a thing of Blogging, this channel provides ample information for first-timers to become world’s best bloggers. One can also maintain a private online journal here.
In my opinion Rediffblogs is much better than other similar services like blogger.com and Sify blogs. Visit it to believe it.
Matchmaker
I have no intentions of marrying just now so I’ve never visited the channel. :)
Astrology
This section needs a lot of improvements. being one who knows the basics of astrology, this section provides no useful details at all. I think Msn astrology is far better.
Rediff USA
This , should I call it mirror site, is meant for NRI’s and US nationals. Since, I’m neither of them, I can’t comment on it’s usefulness.
Search Engine
I’ve got just 1 thing to say. Stick with Google.
E-Greetings
Above average, though the no. of cards is really not enough.
Mobile Services
Never got a chance to use it as the place where I stay does not support Rediff services.
BUT........
Some sections gives you a feeling that Rediff is on the verge of a closure( though there’s nothing like that). Rediff messenger and chatting is, in a single word, HOPELESS. The feature to create one’s homepages is dysfunctional. The no. of newsletters and partner offer-letters is really very less ( though most people hate such advt. letters). Some sections carry articles which are about a month old. The e-cards available are old in style and there are only few animated e-cards ( which is quite popular nowadays).
So...Should I invest at Rediff
In my opinion YES. After a period of slumber, Rediff is finally catching up both financially and otherwise. After many years it has reported a profit. Also, many new features are being added frequently. So, I think Rediff stands a chance.
Conclusion
I’ve just one thing to say.....USE REDIFF in spite of it’s drawbacks.
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Phew.... that was really long. But, Rediff.Com deserves such long reviews.
Pls. : My next review will be my 25th review at MS. So, please make it convenient to be there.