Making e-mail manageable: Four applications tested

The first time the application is launched the user completes the initial part of the configuration, which allows the program to create the catalogue and synchronise it. The steps in this initial configuration are as follows: create a catalogue name and a location for that catalogue (the option is also then given to import catalog settings from a previous NEO version). The operator is then prompted to select from a list of those message store(s) that they need NEO Pro to organise. The next step involves showing NEO Pro which folder(s) contain the junk/spam messages. The second last task is to input any existing and any previous e-mail addresses that the user may have had in the past so the application knows which e-mails are personally addressed to you. Once these details have been provided, the final step is to launch the catalogue synchronisation (with an option to launch the NEO tutorials Web page to begin to get a grasp on this pack­-age's abilities).

The actual catalogue synchronisation for our test message store took just over 10 minutes. This included synchronising the personal folders containing 12,493 items, cleaning up the catalogue (9948 items), organising the folders (143 items), and updating the word index (11,421 items).

Once the synchronisation has been completed, the interface at first seems overwhelming. However, after a short while one becomes aware of the logically displayed frames and toolbars and it becomes easy to find the specific tools to assist with the e-mail management. Also combined with the online tutorials, most average users could become proficient in its use within a very quick timeframe.

One nifty feature is the ability to run through the tab bar and instantly view statistics and sorted mail by: correspondent, bulk e-mail, category, status, date, or attachment. This is particularly handy when trying to weed out that elusive e-mail. This application is definitely the most comprehensive set of tools for managing e-mails in this review, however some may feel that it goes a little over the top. It's definitely one for the e-mail power user. In fact, the whole application interoperates so well with Outlook that there is a small icon on the toolbar in Outlook and vice versa in NEO Pro 3, which basically allows the user to switch between one and the other. It would be fairly safe to say that most users of this advanced package would rarely look at the traditional Outlook screen for their e-mail needs preferring to stay in the NEO Pro interface.

Overall, even though it only works with Microsoft Outlook, NEO Pro is very well refined. The user interface, while seemingly cluttered, is surprisingly easy to come to grips with and allows most tasks to be put at the user's fingertips instead of having to dig deep into hidden menu systems to get the task run. Another application that is a definite must for evaluation or trial.

	E-mail Management   ISYS:email.search v1.5   Mailbag Assistant 3.6   NEO Pro 3.0   Quick Mail Sort 2.0  Specifications  Telstra, Nokia team up  How We Tested  Editor's choice  About RMIT

Product	Nelson Email Organizer Pro 3.0
Price	AU$107 per user
Vendor	Caelo Software
Phone	+1 604 269 9006
Web	www.emailorganizer.com
Interoperability
Supports a very wide range of clients and formats; but doesn't support Outlook.
Futureproofing	½
Excellent range of features and functions, but relatively difficult to master.
ROI	½
Well priced for this application.
Service
No information supplied.
Rating	½