Windows 7 - Gmail Offline vs Windows Live Mail (client)

Hi...

I am using WLM as my email client though my mail is provided by Gmail. Everything's working fine - though sometimes I feel that WLM is a bit sluggish, but its not really a problem.

I had also tried Offline Gmail but my attempt was not very successful. Though all mails (I limited the download and sync to 1 year) were downloaded, Offline mode of Gmail was really sluggish.

My problem is that

(1) I need a calendar that integrates with my email (in this case Gmail).

I now use two calendars - one in WLM and the is Google's Calendar. Ideally, I would like to use one calendar (the Google calendar). I believe one can sync Google Calendar with Outlook 2010's calendar, but not with WLM's calendar (though I supposed one could sync Google's Calendar through and with Windows Live Calendar and then with WLM's calendar - not a very good option for me). Btw, since I have the Student and Home Edition of Office 2010, there is no Outlook.

(2) I need (rather, would prefer to have) integration with OneNote 2010 - especially where email and calendar info is concerned.

So, I am thinking of going back to Offline Gmail. But before I do that I would like to know how many of you use this option and what your assessment of Offline Gmail is (particularly compared with WLM). Or, should I bite the bullet and buy the version of Office 2010 which has Outlook?

Thanks in advance.