Why is GMail still in beta?

I don’t really understand why GMail is still considered a beta application.

Years ago when I first joined GMail — right at the point where people were selling invites on eBay — it made sense as a beta. New members were limited by the number of invites that Google gave out, servers were being tested (I assume), etc. That would certainly constitute a beta service.

But then the issued invites began to grow… 50… 100. Then all of a sudden you could sign up by requesting a text message. And then, one day, you could sign up on the web page itself. But the beta mark still remained.

Now, a few years later, it’s still there for seemingly no apparent reason. Are they still testing their system? Is Google considering a sweet GMail Final? Sure, they are constantly adding new features through the GMail Labs, but once it’s out of beta it doesn’t mean that mean development stops. Maybe Google’s just keeping the beta label for the hell of it. I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

Have an idea why GMail is still in beta, share it in the comments below.

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