Hotmail is the first web-based free email service that allows you to send and receive email from any part of the world if you have a valid internet connection. It was first released on 4 July 1996, and then in 1997, it was bought by Microsoft. Hotmail was first renamed as MSN Hotmail, and later on in 2012, it was named as Window live Hotmail. These back to back renaming of Hotmail also confused many users. But still, Microsoft claimed that it has over 400 million active users, and still, this figure is increasing. In 2012, the Hotmail brand was shifted to Office 365, and it was renamed Outlook.com. This change took a year to complete.
Hotmail Features
- High level of account security features
- View, Edit, and Share google docs
- Real-time document Collaboration
- Edit and reply
- Send huge files
- Quick views
- One-click filter
- Send and view images
Hotmail To Outlook Migration
This migration of Hotmail to Outlook.com started in 2013 after a preview in which Microsoft could test out its functionality and garner feedback from users. Microsoft took users’ comments on board to improve its services before launching its product on a worldwide scale. Launch of the outlook.com was backed by a huge market campaign to promote the services. Not all of its older users were satisfied with this migration of Hotmail to outlook.com. Many of them were not satisfied with its interface and functionality.
New Outlook.com Features
In recent years, after the migration of Hotmail to Outlook.co, Microsoft has included some many different and up to date features. Features like Dark Mode and revamped color schemes were introduced. The prominent feature regarding outlook.com was its design and user interface, as most of the older users of Hotmail were not satisfied with its interface and functionality. Also, in 2004, Google launched Gmail with a pretty basic and simple interface, and with no time, its users increased, and it manages to occupy the top place in the list of best web-based email services.
When Outlook was first launched, it included bill reminders appearing as entries in a user calendar. These are similar to travel reminders, with Outlook detecting a transportation booking such as flight or train journey, etc. It also gives a reminder two days before the due date of bill payment so that it can be paid in time.
In recent times, Microsoft has introduced features like ‘focused inbox. Its main function is to automatically filter those messages which are not useful. Outlook also offers the reading feature, such as it can read the messages aloud, and it includes one-click functionality to improve accessibility.
