[jrockway]

For every old user that hates the change, there are a million people who have never used gmail before and will like it when they switch. Why should progress be held back because you can't adapt?

(I don't really like Google's new style either, but it doesn't really upset me or damage my experience in any way.)

[megablast]

Unlikely. People don't use gmail because of the user interface, they use it because they are locked in with their email address. New users will pick what they have heard off, or what their friends use.

[kleiba]

Tons of people started using gmail exactly because of the user interface.

For your second point, if you really mean "locked in" (as in "my company has outsourced their email to gmail") you can always use an IMAP client.

But I guess this is just a small typo and you mean "logged in" - in which case I'm not sure I can follow? Is your point that people don't like the user interface but use it anyway because their friends use it?! Not sure I buy. If no-one forces you to use gmail, don't use it. Or, again, use an IMAP client.

[rhnoble]

Not to mention keyboard shortcuts! Navigating with my keyboard seriously saves me tons of time everyday.

[kellishaver]

Also very handy for users who can't see the mouse well or rely on a screen reader.

[jwdunne]

I don't think I fully understand what you mean by locked in either. I'm assuming one meaning here:

There are a number of ways you can switch email addresses. You can set up a forwarder from the gmail address to wherever you want--over time this should rectify itself and in the case it doesn't, you're not really losing out on anything. Receive via Gmail, respond via your new email.

I used to use Gmail for the interface. When I received my invite, I'd never experienced anything like that in the browser. It was refreshing, cool and it worked extremely well. I'm not 'locked' into those addresses in any sense of the word and never have been.

[megablast]

No, I meant locked in. Hey, I enjoy the gmail UI as well, but most of my non-tech friends do not care. This is all I was saying.

And yes, I mean locked in, because if everybody knows you at [e-mail], or [e-mail], you can just move to gmail easily. Sure, you can setup forwarders, email everyone, but this is a non trivial step for most people. I am confused why people here can not see this.

[jwdunne]

I'm pretty certain the UI does matter to more than you make out. I just don't think they know how to express it. From what I've seen, getting the UI right is half the battle--look at MySpace vs Facebook.

Though I am certainly seeing where you're coming from with second part. It is a hassle that I don't think most would embark upon. I don't know but it seems switching emails could be a problem that needs solving. There certainly are ways I can think of that would make this easier.