Rebranding clearly works. At least for Microsoft.
Just about six hours after the software giant announced the death of Hotmail and the birth of Outlook.com, it seems more than one million users have signed up to the new email service, which incorporates more Gmail like features and seeks to integrate more closely with social media.
Microsoft just tweeted this out:
One million people have signed up for a new, modern email experience at Outlook.com. Thanks! #outlookpreview twitter.com/Outlook/status…
— Outlook.com (@Outlook) जुलाई 31, 2012
It is unclear if this rush of initial curiosity will lead to more substantial use of Outlook.com. But we have serious doubts that it can replace Gmail as everyones favorite primary mail account.
Key features of Outlook.com:
• Its all on the Cloud: Outlook is cloud friendly and promises that all your email will be available wherever you are. Its linked to your calendar as well. The good thing is that it comes with SkyDrive, so for users sending photos and documents, size is no longer a problem. SkyDrive will ensure that attachment worries are a thing of the past.
1 million users in 6 hours. Image courtesy Outlook Twitter.
• Minimalist interface: Microsoft has gone for a cleaner interface. It also promises user that 30 percent more messages will be visible in your Inbox than other services.
• Social networks: Outlook.com can be linked connected to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and soon, Skype. Recent status updates,Tweets, the ability to chat and video calls will all be visible.
• Documents and other apps: Microsoft is also offering free Office Web Apps such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote which means you can edit from the inbox itself.
Check out our initial impressions here.
