Best Desktop Email Client - Review 2006

For the past couple of months or so, I know there have been non-replies, missing/absent info mails from me.  Some friends have actually enquired about my disappearance.  It is very gratifying to be 'missed'.  Not only that, but you may have also experienced a deja-vu situation.

My replies might have been disjointed, or reply may not have quoted your original mail or appear that reply actually has been sent before you sent your mail.  Well, I WOULD like to boast that  I have a time machine, or atleast clairvoyant or at the very least was at US/Japan & hence the confusion.  But none of it is true.  I have a simple explanation is that I've been trying out different email clients.  I have already changed over to ThunderBird in Jan/Feb 06.  But had 1 serious problem - the Address Book kept crashing.  Hence the look around for another one.

When I went looking for email client, I adopted some basic criteria.

An email client should be / have:

MUST HAVES :
1.  'free' as in 'free-beer' ;
2.  secure connection feature - preferably OpenSSL
3.  turn on/off HTML - worms / trojans safety
4.  turn on/off ActiveX/Javascript - worm / trojan safety;
5.  capable of encryption - preferably GNUPG/Open PGP;
6.  capable of encryption - using digital certificates from CA (Certifying Authority)
7.  multiple email ids / account capability;
8.  id/account interchangability - while composing;
9.  good spam filter;
10. flexible / versatile filter options;
11. inline spell check - (very important);
12. good address book integration;
13. address book with "group" features;
14. easy to setup, run & change settings down the line.

BETTER WITH THIS TOO (PREFERABLE):
1. 'open source';
2.  Good UI - clutter free appearance and good, efficient design;
3. new mail notification options - sound, tray, banner etc;
4. custom templates;
5. good errror reporting;
6. easy Back-up;
7. send later feature
8. Blind send feature
9. Good Message Labels / Flags / Markers
10. Clubbing ids/accounts together
11. Good Import/Export features - to other mail clients.
12. Send mail through hotmail/yahoomail.

NOT LOOKING FOR :
1. News Reader Support;
2. PIM integration.
With this, I have been looking at about a dozen email clients.

Foxmail, Pocomail, Pegasusmail, Incredimail, Mulberry, Mahogany, Courier, Sylpheed-Claws, The Bat!, Becky, iScribe & of course Opera, and ThunderBird itself.

You will have to wait a couple of more days, till I compile the results.  It is a hell of a mess, with my messages spread out all over 6 or 7 clients.

Trying to assemble all of them into one 'best' email client is going to be a pain where I don't need one.

---