<p>Almost a decade after one woman complained about the poor quality of existing email services, Google this month celebrates the ninth birthday of its solution: Gmail.</p><p>On April 1, 2004, Google launched the invite-only beta version of its Ajax-powered email system with 1GB of storage, threaded conversations, and the promise that the new feature was not an April Fool's Day joke.</p><p>"You told us you were tired of spam, so we set to tackling that, and today your feedback makes it possible for Gmail to filter out well over 99 percent of incoming spam," the Gmail team said.</p><p>Over the next three years, Google introduced Chat, Calendar, and an early version of Google Apps, boosted storage to 2GB, and expanded Gmail to 40 languages. By Valentine's Day 2007, Google spread the love by making the invite-only service open to the public.</p><p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417678,00.asp">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://mashable.com/2013/04/10/gmail-evolution-infographic/">How Gmail Has Evolved Over the Years</a> (Mashable)</p><p><a href="http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/googles-gmail-begins-its-10th-year-of-free-email-service/">Google&#039;s Gmail Begins Its 10th Year of Free Email Service</a> (eWeek)</p><p><a href="http://www.knowyourmobile.com/google/19913/visual-evolution-gmail">A visual evolution of Gmail</a> (Know Your Mobile)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dzhqNkW3Y_WLTsMTSFnKcuwybEoiM&ned=us">13 additional articles.</a></p>