Microsoft: Outlook.com Arrives, Hotmail Retires

There’s a wind of change at Microsoft. As of today, the Hotmail webmail service has been retired to make way for the fresh new Outlook.com (not to be confused with the mail client from the same manufacturer). Outlook.com uses the new “Metro” interface which will debut in the fall on the new Windows 8.

Apparently, the new webmail might seem like just the result of a graphic interface change, but in reality, things are not so simple. Outlook.com features a new engine that integrates well with new Microsoft-branded products, Windows 8 in primis. The new webmail remains free, just like Hotmail was, and users will only need to get used to, if they wish, the graphical interface of Outlook.com.

And while Hotmail is being retired after 15 years of honorable service, Outlook.com presents itself as a webmail suitable for all device needs. A change, therefore, dictated more by reasons of technological renewal than by graphical requirements.

Outlook.com, which is debuting these days, will gradually replace its predecessor, as it is still in preview. Microsoft’s intention is to oust (at best) or closely follow Gmail, Google’s mail service. The reason for such a race towards email is tied to a series of lucrative situations, primarily advertising, which, in the case of Outlook.com, also finds a more dignified and, above all, more suitable placement for new formats.

Furthermore, let’s not forget the sheer volume of data that passes through emails and that related to the owners of mail accounts. Profiles that have always told our individual stories, and which, translated into business language, means being able to understand people’s tastes, and therefore, the market’s. Whichever sector it may be, it doesn’t matter.