I have got an e-mail adress in both company and I have got own epperiences too but I would like to hear about your experiences too.
Actually I don't have a @gmail.com e-mail adress but the Gmail system runs at the free e-mail company (Mailbox.hu) where I have and e-mail adress for many many years. It means my Mailbox e-mail box looks and function just like a normal Gmail inbox. Actually I really like it and I really like the dinamic theme which I use there and which shows the outside weather but it have got two big problem with it.
1.) It's too difficult and uncrlear for me especially next to hothail. Many of the buttons are hidden especially the spam menu so I can't automatically see when a new message appeared into the spam folder which is very bad thing especially with my second big problem.
2.) The spam filter. Actually it is quite good because I rarely got spam messages into my inbox but unfortunately I have got the problem for years now that sometimes I got the messages into the inbox from the same sender sometimes I find them in the SPAM folder. Example since I went to a University we had got the NEPTUN informatic system where we got the inportant informations for our sudying and I asked notificiton to my Mailbox e-mail adress and sometimes I got the notification e-mails to my inbox sometimes into the SPAM folder. Ok I was too lazy to change the-mail adress where I asked the notifications but still the problem is problem.
I like my hotmail e-mail adress too because it's clear and I can see the SPAM folder too, but I haven't got any problem with it's spam filter like I have with the other's and I use the basic options in both e-mail adress.
I don't like thgat there are less theme in hotmail than in the Gmail and they are only on the top toolbar. I know the themes are not the important part of the inbox but it count's a lot for me just like my destop them in my Windows 7 operation system.
I read not long ago that Microsoft plan to change the hotmai to fit to the incoming Windows 8 which makes me a worry a bit about it will be more difficult and boring once it happening.
The biggest thing I enjoy in hotmail is the SkyDrive which is part of the hotmail and it's practical when example I would like to share with someone the phpotoes I made during the vacation ect because when I attach the pictures to the mail the system automatically upload them to my SkyDrive box and it only attach small negatives from the picture to the mail and the other one who gets the mail can see the pictures without they need to down load and they can decide which pictures they want to see in the original size and which ones they want to download.
The recent SkyDrive limit is 7GB whic is decreased from 25GB but it's still more tn enough.
Finally I could open the Live side net blog's page so I can link you the entry with the screenshots from the planned metrostyle for hotmail:
http://www.liveside....hotmail-leaked/
http://www.liveside....now-in-english/
It still seems more clear than the Gmail I hope there will be some themes to drop it up.