Gmail users will soon notice a new tool in their settings that makes switching from Yahoo, Hotmail, and many other email services a good bit easier than tinkering with IMAP and POP importing.


Screenshot from Google Operating System.

The new import tool arrives as a partnership with the email-changing service TrueSwitch, which is normally free only for switchers to its selected ISP partners. In Gmail, though, the switch tool can automatically handle the transfer of contacts, old mail and 30 days of mail into the future (until your contacts get up to speed), and adding a label to all mail picked up from your old account. If you or someone you know is looking to make the switch to Gmail, check the list of supported email hosts and give it a go.


Of course, if an email host isn't supported by this new-fangled import, you can always switch using IMAP or follow the official POP guide. Tools like the previously mentioned Gmail Loader can help move things along, as well.

Import Messages into Gmail via IMAP One of the nicest things about IMAP in Gmail—which can download and upload messages to the server, Read more

As Google Operating System's tipster points out, Gmail users will eventually see the new import options in their settings tab that gets renamed as "Accounts and Import."

Import Contacts and Mail to Gmail [Google Operating System]