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Microsoft says that a million people signed up to its new webmail service Outlook in the first six hours after launch this week. It will eventually be a complete replacement for Hotmail.
The new service is designed as a hybrid of the consumer-oriented Hotmail and the business-oriented Outlook, though is aimed mainly at consumers.
There aren’t any spectacular differences, simply because there’s only so many new ideas you can bring to webmail. The look and feel is based on the new Metro design that is the default look of Windows 8, which is certainly cleaner and more professional than Hotmail.
It’s integration with other Microsoft software where you’ll notice the most difference. For example, if you get an attachment with a Microsoft Office document, you can automatically bring up the web version of the relevant application. That means you’ll be able to open, view and edit documents without leaving the Outlook site.
There’s also a free hookup with Microsoft’s online storage service SkyDrive, with all new account holders getting 7GB of storage. And there’s integration with a range of social media services so that, if you really want to, you can make Outlook your one-stop shop for checking on updates from contacts and friends.
At some point Outlook will also integrate with Skype meaning you can, for example, respond to an e-mail by opening up a video chat without needing to open the Skype application and track down the other person in your contact list.
For now nobody is being forced to abandon Hotmail, though that day does appear to be in the plans. In the meantime, it may be worth making the switch by clicking on the new “Upgrade to Outlook.com” choice in the Hotmail Options menu. Doing so will give you first dibs on switching your existing user name from Hotmail to Outlook.
Unsurprisingly, the new service will be selectable as the default mail application in Windows hardware, including Windows 8 computers and tablets and Windows Phones.
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