MICROSOFT has announced the launch of a new email service, called Outlook.com, for web, mobile and desktop that fuses together the best of Outlook and Hotmail. This new service from Microsoft is set to shake things up in the world of e-mail services and is expected to compete - and outperform- all other email products in the marketplace. Loai Bafaqeeh, Marketing and Operations Director at Microsoft, said: "Outlook.com complements and enhances many recent product released by Microsoft and is in line with the company's goal to simplify its approach for individuals." He added: "We firmly believe that this new service will be particularly attractive for Saudi users as we see a strong demand for more cloud products and higher integration." The service is available as a preview starting July 31. Microsoft promises a modern cloud email service with a fresh and intuitive design, connects with Facebook, Twitter, and soon, Skype; works seamlessly with Office and SkyDrive, and prioritizes privacy. The service's most noticeable feature is its design; users enjoy a clean user interface that's intuitive to use and has 60 percent fewer pixels in the header and 30 percent more messages visible in the inbox. In addition no display ads or large search boxes that take up that extra space are present. Microsoft also claims that Outlook.com offers the best social integration of any email service as conversations are enriched by connecting to sites already used, such as Facebook and Twitter. Currently, Outlook.com preview is connected to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and soon, Skype When emailing, users can see the contact's picture and their friends, messages, status updates, chats, calls and latest posts from Facebook and Twitter. The service also boasts an always up-to-date contact list that is similarly connected to those networks. As for Hotmail users, the decision to upgrade is optional. Users who choose to upgrade will use the same username/password to login and all their mail, contacts, and calendar items will still be available in the new user interface. Later on, Microsoft will upgrade all Hotmail users to the new Outlook.com user interface. Additionally, Microsoft's new e-mail service provides industry-leading spam and account protection, partly to move away from Hotmail's notorious reputation for spam. This was hard to change, despite Microsoft's ability to decrease spam from 35 percent to less than 3 percent However, Outlook.com's greatest shift from its predecessor is its cloud-centric approach. The service seamlessly connects with Microsoft's other personal cloud services: SkyDrive, Skype, Xbox, and now Outlook. Furthermore, the service includes free Office Web Apps - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, as well as SkyDrive. Being in preview mode, Microsoft is just getting started as its aiming to listen to feedback and fine tune the service for better upcoming releases, that will continue include Skype and a stellar mobile experience. To sign up, go to www.outlook.com. – SG
