Google’s email intervention may have managed to divert much attention towards Gmail, but Microsoft may still be in the race with a new webmail client dubbed Outlook.com. To be frank, this release doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering that the Redmond giant is overhauling most services to blend in with Windows 8.
Built from the ground up, the popular Windows and Mac desktop application which caters to enterprise users, has now hit online status as a personal email service as well. The company has developed it to be cloud-connected. That means users will be able access their mails through mobile devices from almost anywhere. The UI sports a clean and intuitive appearance which makes messages more visible by churning out the clutter caused by ads and large search boxes.
“Recently, we talked about how we’ve reimagined cloud services for Windows 8 and Windows Phone. And we described new apps for Windows 8, updates to SkyDrive, and how cloud services power the new Office Preview, We’ve also been hard at work on a mission to reimagine personal email – from the data-center all the way to the user experience. Today, we’re starting to deliver on that goal with a preview of the new Outlook.com – modern email designed for the next billion mailboxes,” commented Chris Jones, head of Microsoft Windows Live division.
In addition to the aforementioned features, the Outlook.com service is claimed to be the first email client that can connect with social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google, while support for Skype is in the pipeline. One noteworthy attribute here is Sweep, which automatically sorts out messages like newsletters, shipping updates and social updates from normal mails. This makes it convenient for users to move, delete and manage content from their inbox.
The Outlook.com preview is now live and can be accessed by existing Hotmail customers by simply clicking Upgrade from the options menu of the latter service. New users will be able to sign up for an account through the above mentioned URL.