Updated 26 May, 2012, 4:18 pm IST

Windows Live Hotmail Launched

07 May, 2007, 12:43 pm IST | by Sharon Khare |

Windows Live Hotmail, the successor to MSN Hotmail, is launching globally in 36 languages.

This new service has been built incorporating input from over 20 million beta users users and is the most significant upgrade for Hotmail since it began in 1996. Windows Live Hotmail promises to deliver a safer, more powerful and productive e-mail experience than previous versions with flexible access via the Web, on a mobile phone or with an e-mail client. Microsoft also announced that later this month Windows Live Hotmail customers will be able to access their Windows Live Hotmail e-mail and contacts for free using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Office Outlook 2007 via the new Microsoft Office Outlook Connector beta.

As Windows Live Hotmail begins rolling out on toady and continues over the coming days, consumers will be able to visit http://www.hotmail.com/ to sign up for a new Windows Live Hotmail account. Current MSN Hotmail customers can also update their existing account to Windows Live Hotmail by logging into their account and clicking on the green Join Windows Live Hotmail button.

"We're thrilled to deliver Windows Live Hotmail to the more than 280 million active MSN Hotmail accounts around the world," said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. "Windows Live Hotmail represents an extremely compelling end-to-end e-mail experience that makes it easy for customers to get best-of-breed e-mail access across PCs, mobile devices and the Web. Windows Live Hotmail is a cornerstone online service for Microsoft and a critical part of our online advertising business because e-mail is a key point of influence for consumer purchases. We're pleased to announce the launch of the service to advertisers in addition to consumers on the eve of the Microsoft Strategic Account Summit."

This update features Windows Live Hotmail for mobile (http://mobile.live.com/), where customers can access their e-mail when they are on the go on a Web-enabled mobile phone or PDA. In the coming weeks, Microsoft will introduce an additional e-mail client option for Windows Live Hotmail with the release of Windows Live Mail beta, a free consumer e-mail client available via download that will be a successor to Outlook Express and Windows Mail on Windows Vista.

Windows Live Hotmail is a little more like Outlook with right-click and drag-and-drop capabilities, preview pane customization and auto-complete addressing. Windows Live Messenger presence is built into Windows Live Hotmail so customers can see from their inbox if their Messenger contacts are online. If a contact is online, customers can begin a conversation with the contact directly. It also has inbox storage starting at 2 GB.

Safety features include a Safety bar at the top of each e-mail message that will give a visual cue of the status of the e-mail—white indicates the e-mail is from a known sender, yellow indicates the e-mail is from an unknown sender while red indicates the e-mail is potentially fraudulent.

Microsoft is also providing Windows Live Hotmail customers with more control over the look and feel of their e- mail. They can choose between the familiar MSN Hotmail look or the Outlook look and they can also choose their own color theme for their inbox.

Tags: Hotmail , Windows Live Hotmail , Hotmail , MSN , Outlook