Gmailify Wants To Eat Your Email Address

This week Google has launched Gmailify, a way to deeply integrate the functionality of Gmail software into your Yahoo Mail or Hotmal/Outlook email. Google wants to give you all of the "bells and whistles" provided with Gmail without requiring you to sign up for a Gmail address. To do this, you'll be flipping a switch. This switch brings you into the Google fold. Make no mistake about it, this isn't Google bowing down to the competition. It's Google swallowing them all up.

You've been able to forward your email to a Gmail account before. That's been a feature of Gmail for quite some time. What this "Gmailify" feature does is to make your email address work like a Gmail address – inside Google's Gmail, anyway.

The good thing about this situation for those of you that've had the same Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail/Outlook.com email address forever is that you do not have to toss them aside.

You also do not need to settle for the most basic, rudimentary Gmail experience.

With Gmailify, your email address will get the following:

• Spam Protection

• Automatically sorting email based on type (Social, Updates, Promotions)

• Faster search, with advanced search operators

• Better mail notifications on mobile

• Google Now cards

Because you're getting Google Now integration, that means Google is being allowed to look deeper into your email. Not to worry though, they'll only be using it to show you when your next package is going to arrive, or if your next trip to Las Vegas is coming up, or when your next meeting will be happening.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app.

1. In the top-left, touch the Menu Menu.

2. Scroll down and tap Settings.

3. Tap the non-Gmail account you'd like to link.

4. Tap Link account.

Below you'll see a video that explains what Gmailify will do for your email address.