Windows 7: IMAP in Live or Gmail?

I currently use an IMAP account running from my own domain as my primary e-mail. I came across some articles mentioning Gmail as being able to import POP3 accounts. Do Windows Live (Hotmail) or Gmail allow you to do this with an IMAP account?

Basically what I'm looking for is a way to use my IMAP account as webmail across any computer. My current host has a webmail option, but the UI is a disgrace.

Both Hotmail and Gmail have options in their settings to enable/disable IMAP, with instructions on how to set up a client to receive mail from both.

Or are you wanting to use Gmail to receive mail from your other email accounts?

Yes, I'm wanting to use Live.com or Gmail to be the "front end" to my existing IMAP account. So far, I found out how to do so with a POP3 account in both services, but not IMAP.

I don't know of any web based email apps that will let you connect multiple IMAP accounts, but i'm sure they exist somewhere.

Gmail has an option to continually download the POP3 mails from another account, but not IMAP. Gmail will allow you to import all mail from IMAP accounts, but it won't continually fetch new emails (except...there is an option to fetch NEW messages for 30 days...which you could just redo every thirty days)

Windows live hotmail does pretty much the same thing. You have to connect other accounts via pop3 ( i don't remember IMAP being an option) I haven't used Windows live hotmail in a while so they might have changed things.

For the server that your primary account is on, you should be able to easily enable pop3 (maybe configure gmail for pop3, but keep the downloaded messages on the server). What type of server is it?

Honeslty, I have no idea what kind of server it is. It's whatever 1and1 uses for their regular, non-hosted Exchange accounts.

are you at all opposed to using pop3 as means to connect to the server via gmail? because Gmail has an option to keep copies of the message on the server (normally pop3 removes the message from the server)....and it looks like 1&1 also has pop3 enabled on their (Exchange) servers. i guess you'd always be tying loose ends though when if in the future you have an account you need to connect that has but only IMAP access.

Have you thought about abandoning 1&1 and just using google? - Google Apps Standard Edition helps groups build communities - Google Apps Standard Edition

I stopped using my own mail servers long ago in favor of google hosting my domain mail for free.

I've looked into that in the past, but so far, it is just my wife and I using these accounts, so $100 a year for e-mail is a little much for something we can pretty much do for free now.

For the standard upto 50 accounts it's free.

Interesting...I was reading something that said $50 per user per year. Since it is free, I'll definitely look into this option. Hopefully it is easy and simple to set up.