Microsoft Launches Outlook.com with Facebook Youtube Skydrive Skype Integration

Microsoft Launches Outlook.com on 31st July 2012 with Facebook Youtube and Skype Integration. Microsoft desperately want to take on the highly established and popular Gmail service of Google.

If we look at the history of the webservices launched by Microsoft, all of these failed to occupy its share along with other webservices like Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

HOTMAIL

Acquired by Microsoft in 1997 for $400 Million. This was renamed as MSN Hotmail. When it was launched then Hotmail occupied good share in the market but the major limitation was Storage capacity, Email Expiry. If there is no activity in this mail for 270 days then it gest automatically expired. It is the first major brand Email prone to hacking in 1999 after the hackers revealed a security flaw in it. Till 2004 it is able to sustain with Yahoo. But in 2004, Google launched Gmail. Gmail offered flexible storage space, user friendly interface, integrated chat and other services like Google docs.

Live Mail

In 2007 Microsoft launched Windows Live Mail increasing the storage space, better user-friendly interface. Even hotmail users can use their ids to login to Live Mail but no new registrations allowed in Hotmail after Live is launched.

Outlook.com

On 31st July 2012, Microsoft launched Outlook.com with several new features and highly user-friendly interace. Hotmail, Live users can directly login to Outlook mail or one can also create a new user with an email format of ******@outlook.com

You can access Facebook from Outlook. One can chat with their Facebook friends directly being in Outlook. Update status messages, upload photos, videos in Facebook through Outlook directly.

Microsoft’s online file storage service Skydrive is now easily accessible from Outlook. Also access Skype by authorizing your skype user credentials to Outlook.

Here is my new Outlook mail id – madhav.priya [at] outlook.com It is quite easy to add your Facebook, skype user id credentials. Its quite self-explained. Click on the image to enlarge:

You can also connect to Youtube, Flickr and LInkedin apart from Facebook. Here is the screenshot:

So there is no need to toggle between Facebook and your email.

You can even add other email accounts into Outlook.com and send reply mails using the from address that you want to choose. For instance, one can add gmail account details in outlook and access your gmail and send reply mails from gmail account itself being in Outlook Email.

Once you sigin to your Outlook mail you will get an email that facilitates you to connect to other email accounts. Here is the screenshot:

 

Click on “Set it up” link and provide your other email id and password details in the next screen. You can also provide your other email’s Pop3 details and Port number manually.

After clicking NEXT you will be sent an activation link to your email that you want to authorize in Outlook. Login to your other email and activate it. Now return back to Outlook email. You can now send and receive messages from this other email of yours being in Outlook Email.

It seems Outlook.com can be successful integrating other email accounts, Facebook, Skydrive, Youtube, Linkedin, Flickr. So let’s wait and see how Outlook will be received and if it can take on Gmail through this move.