Pageflakes
This may be lesser known, but those who use Pageflakes swear by it. I won't blame them, as this site features a huge array of widgets (or 'flakes' as they call them), the most flexible layout options, and a robust back-end.
Pageflakes has Google search integrated right into the top section of the page, and yes, the cursor goes straight there on page load. The interface is pretty simple to use – there's always a big Menu button located on the top right that contains all the flakes you can add, along with settings and customization options. You can choose from a good number of themes – there's something for everyone!
To my (and other widescreen monitor users') delight, Pageflakes does offer a four-column interface instead of the standard three columns used by the other two. That aside, things are far from perfect. The widget selection is extremely limited. There's minimal support for Google applications, barring the regular Gmail, Search and Calendar. While some widgets are absolutely brilliant in their design, there are others that were buggy throughout my tests. Even the basic Wikipedia and Facebook widgets were far from practical or perfect.
All I can say is that if you find the widgets you're looking for, Pageflakes is definitely the best-looking of the three options. Otherwise, you could wait and see how it turns out with time.
Pros
- Fast loading
- Best-looking of the 3 options
- Very few Google services supported
- Some widgets are a bit buggy
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