Microsoft Outlook.com Goes Live: 10 Things You Should Know About It
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5. Like Gmail, chat is built-in
To enhance Outlook.coms overall usability, Microsoft
has bundled chat features into the service. So, in addition to Outlook
chat, users can instant message with each other over Facebook Chat. Its a
nicely integrated feature, but its certainly nothing new: Google has its own
alternative in Gmail.
6. Office integration is huge
Armed with Outlook.com, users will be able to view and edit Office documents from
within the email platform. So, if an Excel spreadsheet needs a quick modification or a Word document has a typo, users wont need to download a file
just to make the changes. Its a nice feature.
7. A social address book
It seems that everywhere we turn nowadays, companies are looking to bundle social
network information into address books. Thats
certainly the case with Outlook.com. In fact, Microsofts Contacts list
allows users to access a persons latest information shared via Facebook and
LinkedIn.
8. Skype, of course
When Microsoft acquired Skype last year, the company made it clear that it planned
to bundle the VoIP service into as many of its platforms as possible. So, it
would only make sense for Outlook.com to come with access to Skype. Aside from
basic calling, Outlook.com users will also be able to place video calls to
other Skype or Outlook users.
9. The focus is on Gmail
Make no mistake: with Outlook.com, Microsoft
is gunning for Gmail. Microsoft knows that Hotmail wasnt doing the trick
and the company felt compelled to come up with something that could match it.
Outlook.com, at least so far, looks to be just the ticket.
10. Windows 8s inspiration
As noted, the design of Outlook.com is awfully nice. But its important to recognize that its design is inspired by Windows 8. The same can be said for Windows
Phone 8 and even Office 2013. At this point, it appears Microsoft wants to use
Windows 8 as an inspiration for all of its products and carry a single
look-and-feel across all products. Lets see if the plan works out.
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6. Office integration is huge
