01:30
Faizan
Out of Google's some 45 products and services and all the names and lingo that go along with them, it can be hard to keep them straight. For example, how many can quickly tell the difference between Google Chat, Google Talk and Google Voice? And without knowing the details, distinguishing between a Google and Gmail account can be confusing -- but there is a clear difference.
Background
If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google account. Gmail is Google's free Web mail service for which your Gmail account address (name@gmail.com) typically doubles as your Google account username. Still, a Gmail Web mail account is only a slice of what an overall Google account offers, which includes personalized account access to all of Google's services, such as YouTube, Google Drive and Google Voice. At the same time, though, while opening a Gmail account automatically gets you a Google account, having a Google account doesn't necessarily mean you have a Gmail account.
Alternative
You can open a Google account without opening a Gmail account. In this case, instead of providing a handle to be fused with a Gmail domain, you'd enter a non-Gmail address that you currently use. However, while the sign-up page for an overall Google account allows you to bypass a Gmail account and use a non-Gmail address, other Google sign-up pages -- such as for creating a Google+ social network account -- don't give you this option. This doesn't mean, though, that you can't make a Google+ profile without a Gmail account -- you can.
Registering
You can create a Google account on any of Google's product pages, and from then on you'd use the same username and password to log in to any of them, whether it be YouTube, Gmail or otherwise. But if you want to avoid creating a Gmail account, visit the overall Google account creation page and click the "I prefer to use my current email address" link to proceed with entering other personal information. This will give you a personalized account for all of Google's free services -- including Google+ -- but without Gmail.
Upgrading
There's a way to upgrade to a paid version of Google or Gmail account, via Google Apps. This suite of tools gives you the same products and services you can get for free, only optimized for business, education or government professionals who collaborate with other colleagues. You pay a monthly rate per user for this service, which also comes with more online storage space than a free Google account gives -- 30GB instead of 15GB, as of May 2013. And with Google Apps you can also forgo an "@gmail.com" email address, if you provide an email address hosted by an email domain that you own.
Background
If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google account. Gmail is Google's free Web mail service for which your Gmail account address (name@gmail.com) typically doubles as your Google account username. Still, a Gmail Web mail account is only a slice of what an overall Google account offers, which includes personalized account access to all of Google's services, such as YouTube, Google Drive and Google Voice. At the same time, though, while opening a Gmail account automatically gets you a Google account, having a Google account doesn't necessarily mean you have a Gmail account.
Alternative
You can open a Google account without opening a Gmail account. In this case, instead of providing a handle to be fused with a Gmail domain, you'd enter a non-Gmail address that you currently use. However, while the sign-up page for an overall Google account allows you to bypass a Gmail account and use a non-Gmail address, other Google sign-up pages -- such as for creating a Google+ social network account -- don't give you this option. This doesn't mean, though, that you can't make a Google+ profile without a Gmail account -- you can.
Registering
You can create a Google account on any of Google's product pages, and from then on you'd use the same username and password to log in to any of them, whether it be YouTube, Gmail or otherwise. But if you want to avoid creating a Gmail account, visit the overall Google account creation page and click the "I prefer to use my current email address" link to proceed with entering other personal information. This will give you a personalized account for all of Google's free services -- including Google+ -- but without Gmail.
Upgrading
There's a way to upgrade to a paid version of Google or Gmail account, via Google Apps. This suite of tools gives you the same products and services you can get for free, only optimized for business, education or government professionals who collaborate with other colleagues. You pay a monthly rate per user for this service, which also comes with more online storage space than a free Google account gives -- 30GB instead of 15GB, as of May 2013. And with Google Apps you can also forgo an "@gmail.com" email address, if you provide an email address hosted by an email domain that you own.
Posted in: gmail
