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Microsoft debuts Outlook.com webmail


Goodbye Hotmail, hello Outlook.com.
 
Microsoft previewed this week what it called a reimagined webmail service whose features it said aim to meet the needs of modern times.
 
"A lot has changed in the last eight years, and we think it' time for a fresh look at email - modern, connected, smart, powerful, and in control," Microsoft's Chris Jones said in a blog post.
 
He said that since the debut of Hotmail in 1996, and Gmail - which brought several new features in 2004 - little has changed in the way email services worked.
 
Email has become less and less useful as inboxes become cluttered with newsletters and social updates, and people increasingly keep up their personal connections in social networks instead of their email address books, he noted.
 
Jones said Outlook.com is a personal email service that shares the same name as the popular email client.
 
He said Outlook is designed cloud first, so all the mail it hosts is always available wherever the user is.
 
But he also pointed out Outlook.com looms as the first email service connected to social networking services like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and soon, Skype, "to bring relevant context and communications to your email."
 
Inbox features
 
The Outlook.com inbox features photos of the user's friends, recent status updates and Tweets friends have shared.
 
It also has the ability to chat and video call, and has an always up-to-date contact list that is connected to one's social networks.
 
"And, of course, you are in control of your experience - what you share, the networks you connect to, and your personal information," Jones said.
 
Other Microsoft apps
 
Jones said Microsoft included free Office Web Apps -- Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote - which let a user view and edit attachments without leaving the inbox.
 
He also said Outlook.com comes with SkyDrive, "so if you're sending photos, documents, or just about any other file, you can now put them on SkyDrive and stop worrying about attachment limits."
 
Setting up on devices
 
Jones said Outlook.com can be set up on smartphones and tablets on the Windows Phone, iOS, Android, and Blackberry platforms. — TJD, GMA News