While a change to Hotmail's interface was expected, everyone was surprised by the abrupt way in which it was carried out. Hotmail had become one of the slowest online services with poor usability for most users.
Initially, both services, Hotmail and Outlook.com, will operate in parallel, meaning that users who wish to continue using Hotmail.com will be able to do so. It is not mandatory to upgrade your account to Outlook.com at this time.
Outlook.com seeks to make a clear difference from its predecessor, which had an outdated interface dating back more than a decade. The most significant change that Outlook.com presents is in its interface, which resembles the style of Windows 8.
In terms of its functionalities, Outlook.com offers direct access to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and soon integration with Skype. In addition, it shows much less advertising, avoiding the insertion of promotional messages in individual messages, although there may be advertising in the mailing lists. It also promises a reduction in spam and is compatible with PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets.
In general, a site's integration with social networks depends on its internal policy, and both Microsoft and Outlook have done a good job in this regard. So it's no surprise to find the ability to add contacts from Facebook, Twitter, Google and LinkedIn to your contact list in the "People" section. This type of social support had already been seen in elements like Windows Live Messenger, so its presence in the new Outlook was inevitable. Outlook also offers special support for Facebook, including the ability to chat whenever the user chooses to associate the accounts. In this sense, Outlook has a certain advantage. Gmail is doing everything possible to attract its users to use Google+, something that is also seen in other portals such as YouTube. While Gmail allows some level of account association, the relationship is tighter in Outlook.
With cloud access, users can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Web Apps for free, bundled with 7GB of free SkyDrive storage.
The look and feel of Outlook.com should be extremely familiar to Windows Phone users, even incorporating the small loading animation seen on Windows Phone handsets. In terms of usability, it meets the expectations of a web application for this type of system.
To update your old Hotmail account, you simply have to access http://www.outlook.com, the trial version that is already available. It requires no prior invitation and offers "virtually" unlimited storage for its members, at least for the time being, along with 7GB of SkyDrive storage for anyone who creates a new Microsoft account. Outlook.com seeks to banish the Hotmail image forever.
Updated on: 03/06/2023 00:00:00
Source of Information: ALT1040 / Neoteo,
