Microsoft's Outlook takes aim at Google's Gmail

Outlook has and always will suck. Can you even check it elsewhere aside from the computer you set it up on?

Outlook.com is a web mail service. Replaces Hotmail.

Good luck with that.

Microsoft tried this before with "live.com" and failed to make an impact on Gmail. There's no reason to think they'll have any better luck this time but, as they say, hope springs eternal.

You'd think they would just improve Hotmail but I suppose they have come to the conclusion that that brand is beyond salvation.

smithinjapanFeb. 19, 2013 - 06:24PM JST

Outlook has and always will suck. Can you even check it elsewhere aside from the computer you set it up on?

Clearly you didn't bother to read the article and skipped straight to the bashing. Outlook.com is, as it's name suggests, a web based email service. It can be connected to from any web browser or email client, and even has exchange support built in (in case you want to remotely wipe an account).

It's a shame that Live@Edu switched to Office365 rather than Outlook.com though, it removed some features institutions loved over gmail's education version

It's tough being behind the curve - maybe it is better than Gmail, maybe not, but why would I switch? I have no complaints with the Google suite.

Still, I think I'll register an account today before my eponymous father does so first - he's got all the nicknamed accounts (gmail, facebook, etc.) while I have to use my full name.

I just went to outlook.com. I was redirected to login.live.com. Now I know what it is. It is the same old thing with a new name and a redesigned login screen.

gaijintravellerFeb. 19, 2013 - 08:55PM JST

I just went to outlook.com. I was redirected to login.live.com. Now I know what it is. It is the same old thing with a new name and a redesigned login screen.

ALL microsoft services use login.live.com, you'll be back in outlook.com as soon as you log in, it's no different than any other website in that regard. Even gmail is actually accounts.google.com, not gmail.com (and the inbox is actually mail.google.com!)

Most of the people I know and share emails with all have several email adresses, msn.com, gmail and Yahoo.com being the most popular with them. I think one of the questions would be, which providers are being used the most. By people who have accounts with all of them.

gmail is way superior than hotmail, 10gb storage free, if you dont have right software its also good for opening viewing all file types.

I had a hotmail account that I used for everything. One day, without any reason, I was blocked from accessing my account: I tried everything, but HM kept showing me the message it was sort of an security upgrade, and no matter what I did or answered, I never got my account back. Angry with their "service", I abandoned Hotmail in favor of Gmail. But while Gmail was efficient I think it's too clunky (hence my idea that Androids are clunky too), the design a mess. I changed to iCloud one year ago, and it's the best I have used so far: efficient and clean. I would never use Outlook.com, I am afraid they block my access to my account like Hotmail did.

Unless Microsoft is able to lock people into using it on their new Windows 8 tablets and soon to be phones, I don't think it will work out

And of course this is also only if people jump on the Windows 8 bandwagon and abandon Android and iOS.....which I don't see happening any time soon

LostinNagoyaFeb. 19, 2013 - 11:50PM JST

I had a hotmail account that I used for everything. One day, without any reason, I was blocked from accessing my account: I tried everything, but HM kept showing me the message it was sort of an security upgrade, and no matter what I did or answered, I never got my account back.

99.99% chance you are at fault, the primary reason for blocking is having your account jacked by weak passwords or password reuse.

Google says Gmail has more than 425 million accountholders, including those that only visit on smartphones and other mobile device.

Yeah. When I bought my Android phone, apparently a Gmail account was created for me without asking me first. So Google's count of how many Gmail account holders they have is skewed because they created the majority of the accounts themselves. I guess it would be too difficult for Google to track all aspects of your life if you were allowed to use any email service you wanted. I only use the Gmail account when the Droid forces me to, and I never give the email address out as one of mine.

I don't this outlook.com going anywhere with this... They’re trying to take customer base that has years of very good history with their own email providers...

@ Fadamor, actually no...there was this one check box...

My Outlook client on my desktop refuses Outlook.com's pop settings. ("Can't log in to server.) It seems like the 2 Outlooks don't want to play together. My conclusion: a useless enterprise.

Errr, I guess I'll stay with gmail.

Well, Hotmail is GARBAGE. Ever try to set it up on Outlook? They're both Microsoft products, so you'd expect them to work perfectly together. But, no. You need to install an extention, and for me anyway, even that didn't work. Synced up fine with Thunderbird though...

Then you have the weird freeze it does when you try to compose a message and it just doesn't let you do anything.

Microsoft should just give up on the e-mail thing.

“We are trying to push people who have gotten lazy and comfortable with an email service that may not be all that great and help show them what email can really do for them,” said Mehta.

The amount to people who change e-mail providers because one does something "cool" is tiny. If you can send and receive e-mail, you don't really need anything else.

about 60% fewer ads than Hotmail.

If most people use e-mail on their phone, the ads this is moot. I've been using both Gmail and Microsoft's Live mail for years on my phone, and never seen a single ad.

JeffLeeFeb. 20, 2013 - 08:35AM JST

My Outlook client on my desktop refuses Outlook.com's pop settings. ("Can't log in to server.) It seems like the 2 Outlooks don't want to play together. My conclusion: a useless enterprise.

You got to be crazy to want POP3 for that account. Use IMAP at minimum, or just use exchange instead (also included in outlook.com). You don't even need to put in anything, it works automatically by typing in outlook.com as the server and your FULL user name and password. No need to adjust settings.

ProbieFeb. 20, 2013 - 09:56AM JST

Well, Hotmail is GARBAGE. Ever try to set it up on Outlook? They're both Microsoft products, so you'd expect them to work perfectly together. But, no. You need to install an extention,

Hotmail worked fine with POP3 or IMAP in Outlook 2000-2010. No extension, nothing. You probably installed a virus, since you don't need extensions. From 2007 onward, you don't even need to do any mail setup, everything is automatic.

Hotmail worked fine with POP3 or IMAP in Outlook 2000-2010. No extension, nothing. You probably installed a virus, since you don't need extensions. From 2007 onward, you don't even need to do any mail setup, everything is automatic.

Nope. Outlook told me I needed to download something from MSN or somewhere. It wasn't a virus. I'm not a dummy.

@basroil

I did the POP settings manually after the setup wizard, which kicked in automatically, failed right from the outset. So both approaches failed. I even slackened my email anti-virus settings to get the dumb thing to work. But "Cannot connect to server."

If you have any other ideas, I'm all ears. I scooped a cool outlook ID and am eager to use it...that is, if MS allows me to.

ProbieFeb. 20, 2013 - 12:32PM JST

Nope. Outlook told me I needed to download something from MSN or somewhere. It wasn't a virus. I'm not a dummy.

I guess you mean Outlook Connector, which is a legitimate program but not necessary for email. Only reason for it is calander sync, which I never bother with because Windows 8 means full calander syncing without bothering with full outlook (and better than outlook in general, unless you need mail lists or corporate features that you can't use with hotmail anyway)

You can read up on what Outlook Connector does, as well as how to access hotmail without it:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17328/add-hotmail-live-email-accounts-to-outlook-2010/

JeffLeeFeb. 20, 2013 - 02:48PM JST

I did the POP settings manually after the setup wizard, which kicked in automatically, failed right from the outset.

I did say you would have to be crazy to use POP3 considering there's exchange, use exchange and should work just fine. You can also look at the link above. And never lower AV settings, email is the source of almost all infections, with the other tiny bit being driveby downloads.

@basroil Thanks, just did exchange and also looked at your link. After the wizard searches for the server ("configuring" dialogue), it replies with a crossout mark, indicating failure beside the phrase "Server login." (in Japanese) . I'm using Outlook 2007, by the way. Let me know if you have any other ideas, because I'm getting desperate.

Got it running in android, but that also failed in my first few attempts. I went to a few forums to find out that you need to use some strange hotmail server name, and not the one MS inputs!

Kinda reminds me of way back to Windows 95, when email was a novelty and setting up required the neighborhood IT geek. Would think that MS would have evolved after nearly 20 years.

Tried m.outlook.com or the URL of your web app (pod something .outlook.com) as the server name?

Quite of few sad tales of trouble using Outlook/Hotmail/Live here. I think that's why the nickname for Outlook is Lookout! Welcome to the wacky world of Microsoft. ;-)

Hotmail worked fine with POP3 or IMAP in Outlook 2000-2010.

Hotmail doesnt support imap. Neither does outlook.com. Neither does Yahoo. It's one of the reasons I switched to gmail several years ago.

@basroil

Got it working, but I had to install the plugin "Outlook Connector." All the other conventional ways: exchange, imap, pop3 wouldn't connect to the server. Thanks for your advice anyway.

Unless this is fixed -- running it smoothly in email clients -- I can't see how it can compete with gmail.