Microsoft updates 'Hotmail' to 'Windows Live Hotmail'

Microsoft on Monday has released the next generation of MSN Hotmail, dubbed Windows Live Hotmail, which according to the software giant will deliver a safer, more powerful and productive e-mail experience than previous versions with flexible access via Web, on a mobile phone or with an e-mail client.

Available worldwide in 36 different languages, the successor to MSN Hotmail has been built to be a vast improvement over the previous Hotmail offering, having incorporated input from more than 20 million beta testers.

Early last week, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant sent an e-mail to testers of the service thanking them for their participation in the Windows Live Hotmail beta program. "You’ve played an important role in our Windows Live Hotmail Beta and everyone at Microsoft wants to say THANKS," read the mail.

The thanks giving mail also notified testers about the release of the revamped service, saying the product was now ready for public release.

Windows Live Hotmail offers a 2GB storage capacity and several enhancements over the current user interface, and is built upon Microsoft's AJAX platform. With more storage capacity and communication features, updated graphics, new functionality, and an AJAX-style interface, Hotmail users can expect an updated user interface that draws heavily from Microsoft’s Outlook mail application.

The updater Hotmail service includes right click menus, a paneled interface, an updated search bar, e-mail conversation grouping and enhanced connectivity to Messenger.

"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."

Hotmail users need not to do anything to receive the enhancements; their accounts will be upgraded automatically with the beginning of new Hotmail service on Monday. Existing MSN Hotmail customers can also update their current account to Windows Live Hotmail by logging into their account and clicking on the green Join Windows Live Hotmail button.

Microsoft also announced that later this month Windows Live Hotmail users will be able to access their Windows Live Hotmail email and contacts for free using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Office Outlook 2007 through the new Microsoft Office “Outlook Connector” beta.

Hotmail has taken a long time in catching up with market leaders such as Gmail, which had introduced its service with 1 GB storage capacity, in April 2004 and upgraded it to 2GB in 2005. Yahoo! Mail and RediffMail have also had 1 GB storage capacity for almost 2 years.

Internet media company Yahoo Inc., which launched its free e-mail service in 1997 with four megabytes of storage, in February this year announced that it will provide unlimited storage space to its nearly 250 million users worldwide, in a move to outmaneuver its two largest rivals in free e-mail, Microsoft Corp., which now grants two gigabytes of space on its Windows Live Mail and Google Inc., which currently provide 2.8 gigabytes of free storage on Gmail.