Microsoft tries its hand at a new simplified interface, with the introduction of a completely new webmail service, Outlook.com.
The company hopes the new service will boost its email fortunes. Outlook.com will replace Hotmail, which has been losing ground over the years.
Leading social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can fit in neatly with the new service allowing users to communicate with these networks via a single Outlook.com site. Skype, which was acquired by Microsoft, will also feature in the new mail service.
"We realized that we needed to take a bold step, break from the past and build you a brand new service from the ground up," Microsoft said in an official press release. "You already know Outlook via the Outlook desktop application-for PCs and Macs-as the world's most popular application for reading email, managing a calendar, and connecting to people. And you may have used the Outlook Web App connected to Exchange Server in your organization.
"Now, in addition to a desktop application and a service for businesses, we're offering Outlook as a personal email service - Outlook.com.
Outlook.com is a "modern email designed for the next billion mailboxes," Microsoft said. "In the Outlook.com inbox, your personal email comes alive with photos of your friends, recent status updates and Tweets that your friend has shared with you, the ability to chat and video call."
The service is free and is now open for public. It offers "virtually unlimited" storage. It also offers free Office Web Apps, where users will be able to open and edit attachments from their inbox. There will be no video advertisements and no targeted ads on messages between people, though newsletters will be allowed.
The company is going extra mile by letting Gmail and Yahoo users to use Outlook.com for email management. The company said they can add a "@outlook.com" email if they like.
"This will let you use both services for now, but we think that over time, most people will prefer Outlook.com," Microsoft said.