Microsoft Ditches Hotmail in Favor of Revamped Outlook.com

by Angela Nazworth | August 1, 2012 2:18 pm

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[1]) introduced Outlook.com[2] Monday to replace its laughably outdated Hotmail. Here are a few things you should know about Microsoft’s new email service.

• Outlook.com is still in what Microsoft is calling “preview” mode, which means you can sign up for an account and snoop around, but you won’t be able to send emails just yet.
• Hotmail users will eventually be moved onto Outlook.com.
• It boasts a clean, fresh look and fewer ads than Hotmail.
• The service offers easy connections to social media outlets such as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB[3]), Twitter and LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD[4]).
• Free Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Web apps are built into the system.
• It uses updated cloud technology that comes with  7 GB of free storage.
• Outlook promises that users are in control of their own data and that personal conversations aren’t used for ads.
• The new service is said to be compatible with PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones. It will even play nice with Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG[5]) many services.
• Skype will soon be a part of the new service as well.

So far, more than 1 million users have signed up for Outlook.com. You can read more about the service at Outlook’s blog[6].

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