With the impending release of Windows Phone 7, last year’s release of Windows 7, and the new Office suite beta in full swing, Microsoft seemed to have forgotten about the tool that attracted so many webophiles in the first place. We’re referring to old man of the internet, Hotmail. The first and still most used of web mail clients, Hotmail hasn’t seen to many changes in its design, features, and add-ins in recent years. With the continually changing face of Google’s Gmail, it almost seemed destined to fade off into internet memory.
Microsoft hopes to change all of that, though, with Microsoft’s published preview of what faithful Hotmail users can soon expect to see in their inboxes. Calling it the “next generation in personal email”, Microsoft published details of planned changes include the addition of social networking features, simplified mail management, improved collaboration, and more.
What do the planned changes include?
For starters, the new Hotmail will include some handy features that aim to help users manage all of their information in one place. They include:
• Social network updates integrated into your inbox
• Social networking status updates from your inbox
• Updating and tracking of shipping invoices
• Unified calendar management and reminders
• Encrypted photo and update streams with a slide show feature, from Flickr and other photo hosting websites
• A “Sweep” feature to allow for mass filing and deletion of unwanted messages
• Inline viewing of received video links from providers like Hulu and YouTube
• Full SSL session support
• Enhanced Exchange ActiveSync support for mail, contacts, calendars and tasks
• Improved mobile browser interface and support for traditional PC browser features
Office Web Apps integration is on the way.
Microsoft is also integrating its latest high-profile offering, Office Web Apps. Users will be able to open traditional files, such as Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint presentations, from within the Hotmail interface. Users who create documents on their computer and share them with others using Windows Live SkyDrive. This will allow recipients to view them, without the need to have Microsoft Office installed on their computer. According to Microsoft, the service will support up to “200 Office documents of up to 50 MB each”, per user. The more practical application of this feature would obviously be the ability for a user to store their own documents “in the cloud” and keep them accessible from wherever they happen to be when they need them.
What if I don’t want…or need…any of these things?
Microsoft hasn’t lost sight of the fact that some people just want to read and write email messages. For those who don’t need all of these fancy new features, an option will be available to redirect them to their traditional inbox, upon login.
What are the rubrics on which the “New” Hotmail will be graded?
Looking at the big picture, Microsoft’s changes to Hotmail aren’t likely to attract new users en masse. Ultimately, the average user yearns for simplicity. They can accept change as long as a discernible benefit is derived from it. Thusly, the success or failure of the Hotmail makeover will depend heavily on how easy (or difficult it is) for users to become accustomed to the new interface. If the reception is a warm one, Microsoft might be able to hang on to the seasoned Hotmail veterans who have remained faithful to date.
