After a mass exodus of the Outlook.com services back in the early noughties, when it seemed that everyone in the world was switching to and Gmail, the service has undergone a major refresh. Launching recently with new features, a better user interface and a refreshing design, it might just be enough to tempt some of the deserters back to base. Here are some of the reasons we think you will love the new Outlook.com.
Best and New Features of the new Outlook.com
SkyDrive Integration
Outlook.com is having the full integration with the SkyDrive. So, you can easily store your files in the Cloud. SkyDrive provides the 7GB of Cloud storage which is sufficient for most of the usual activities.
Unlimited Storage
Users of Gmail who use the service for more than just messaging their friends will be acutely aware of the 10GB storage limit. Whilst this may be enough for the majority of messaging needs, it quickly builds up if you tend to keep email copies for any reason. With the new Outlook, this is no longer a problem. With virtually unlimited storage space that expands as you need it, you can be sure of being able to keep every email you want for as long as you want.
Recovery of Deleted Emails
Accidentally deleted an important email? Or maybe you deleted one that you now wish you’d read a bit more thoroughly? Usually, if this was within the last day or so, you just search your Trash folder with no problems. But what if it was longer ago? What if it was a week ago, or even longer? Usually there would be no hope of ever seeing this email again, but with the new ‘Recovery’ service from Outlook.com, you can recover deleted emails from days, maybe even weeks ago, helping you to stay on top of everything a little bit easier.
Alias Email Addresses
If you need to enter an email address to view the contents of a website, but don’t want to be bombarded with spam, Outlook.com now has the answer. Simple alias email address can be easily created within the mail application, allowing you to log into websites easily without having to deal with the influx of mail as a result.
Merge Multiple Email Accounts
You can manage all of your email accounts from the Outlook.com inbox itself. You can receive email of other account in the Outlook.com inbox and can also forward the Outlook emails to other email accounts for better management.
View and Edit Microsoft Office Files
You Can view and edit the Microsoft Office files attached in the email directly from your Outlook inbox. You do not even need to have the Microsoft Office installed on your computer.
Microsoft Office and SkyDrive on Outlook.com (Video)
HTML Editing
Most email clients now feature a WYSIWYG editor to let you change fonts, colours and styles in your messages, but the new Outlook.com goes even further than that. Now you can use HTML code in your messages, if you feel so inclined, simply by selecting ‘Edit in HTML’ from the menu at the top.
Delete and block with ease
The ‘Sweep’ feature is a must have of any busy inbox. This allows you to select a regular sender and delete all the messages from them with one click of the mouse. This allows you to clean up your inbox from daily Groupons, Twitter alerts and anything else that seems to be a regular delivery. Not only that, but with a second click of the mouse you can choose to block that sender, either directly or by their domain extension – super useful stuff for inboxes that are always clogged up with promotional emails.
Facebook Chat and Social Networking
You can integrate your social media accounts with your Outlook.com account like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc for the quick access to them right from the one browser window. Also, you can chat with your Facebook friends from the sidebar of the Outlook.com.
Fast and Pretty
Overall, the entire service makes Gmail seem old fashioned and clunky. The service has been improved beyond all recognition; emails load faster, attachments attach quicker and the whole thing has had a much needed upgrade. Gmail had better pull its socks up if it wants to keep its share of the webmail market!