Don't give up hope yet. I had the same issues, and could only open the email app when I had an incoming gmail mail set off the notifier. I can post some details later, but in general, I found I had not set up the outgoing smtp, so the mail client was hanging.
It would still open and show the new messages, but unless you have the outgoing settings set (follow the google mail instructions (set outgoing for pop..) then you should see an improvement. I spent this morning getting mine working because I was sick of it.
That seems to have solved the failure to launch issue and now I can send out mail from the tablet through my gmail (my own domain)..See if that helps.
I believe we better get the onboard email working and understand it before we ditch it for a different tool. I know some people like other email clients, but try to get yours working first, then change. You can adjust or shut off the notifier after thats all squared away. PS. I'm in O8 O/s and the incoming mail is set to imap,and outgoing to pop. That was the solution.