Hotmail replaced by Outlook.com in Microsoft shake-up

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Microsoft is overhauling its free webmail service, dropping the Hotmail name it has used since acquiring the product in 1998, and renaming it Outlook.com.

The revamped service will help sort messages as they arrive and allow users to make internet calls on Skype.

It said the move would help tackle the problem of "cluttered" inboxes.

The move may also be designed to win over users of Google's rival Gmail service.

Microsoft said that in many cases email had become a "chore" because its users accounts had become "overloaded" with material.

Its solution is to automatically sort messages into different areas to distinguish between emails from contacts, newsletters, package delivery notices, social network posts and other identifiers determined by the account holder.

In addition it is taking steps to link the Outlook account with other services the user might have subscribed to.

"We are giving you the first email service that is connected to Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google, and soon, Skype, to bring relevant context and communications to your email," the firm's Chris Jones said on its blog.

"In the Outlook.com inbox, your personal email comes alive with photos of your friends, recent status updates and tweets that your friend has shared with you, the ability to chat and video call - all powered by an always up-to-date contact list that is connected to your social networks."

Targeting Google

In what may be perceived as a dig at Google, Mr Jones added that the firm would not scan email content or attachments in order to sell the information to advertisers or others.

Large photos and video can be sent via the firm's Skydrive service avoiding attachment size limits

He also announced that web versions of the firms Office apps were built-in, potentially helping it counter competition from other web-based application suits such as Google Docs and Zoho Docs.

Outlook.com also links up with Microsoft's Skydrive cloud storage, allowing users to send photos and other documents via the service to avoid the risk of going over their attachment size limit.

This could pose a threat to the rival Google Drive service as well as Dropbox, Sugarsync and others.

'Cleaned up'

Mr Jones said the firm had built a "brand new service from the ground up". But Matt Cain, an analyst at the tech consultants Gartner, played down the suggestion of a major leap forwards.

"Outlook.com represents reverse-consumerisation - taking a ubiquitous business tool and recrafting it for the consumer market," he told BBC.

"There really is no new technology here - the filtering tools have been around for some time as well as the social network integration.

"What is new is the cleaned up user interface, and the marketing spin, and the tight integration with office web apps and Skydrive, and the forthcoming integration with Skype."

Microsoft is offering the service in a "preview" mode for the time being and has not announced an official release date
 
I use incredimail which sounds similar i can use any email with it and can connect to fb - but choose not to its for email not social networking!
But if they are dropping the hotmail are they doing the same with all the email addresses that end in hotmail.co or.com

I have just googled outlook.com and my account came up automatically with my live.co.uk address
 
I use incredimail which sounds similar i can use any email with it and can connect to fb - but choose not to its for email not social networking!
But if they are dropping the hotmail are they doing the same with all the email addresses that end in hotmail.co or.com

I have just googled outlook.com and my account came up automatically with my live.co.uk address

thats what i was thinking as well Linny - well i think it will remain the same but new users that sign up will have outlook.com at the end.

Heres our question answered Linny;

Restoring the Outlook name to Microsoft’s consumer email service accomplishes two goals. First, it dumps the Hotmail brand, which is tarnished beyond redemption, especially among technically sophisticated users who have embraced Google’s Gmail as the default standard for webmail. More importantly, it replaces the Hotmail domain with a fresh top-level domain that’s serious enough for business use.
(If you have an existing Hotmail.com or Live.com address, you can continue to use it with the new Outlook interface. But new addresses in the Outlook.com domain are up for grabs. if you have a common name, I recommend that you get yourself over to Outlook.com now to claim your preferred email address while it’s still available.)
The Outlook.com preview will run alongside Hotmail for now, but when the preview ends, this will be the replacement for all Hotmail and Live Mail users.
 
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