Microsoft has launched a beta version of Windows Live Mail on the evening of November 30, marking a significant overhaul and transformation from the free Hotmail service that the company continues to offer.
As part of the Windows Live initiative, Microsoft introduced this service in early November with the goal of “Webifying” desktop applications. Windows Live Mail has been built entirely from scratch (the 215 million current Hotmail users will operate on a different system, independent of Live Mail).
The software giant’s aim in developing Windows Live Mail is to create an email service that features and resembles Outlook Express, but with enhanced performance and upgrades thanks to the web platform.
The Windows Live product suite is expected to provide users with a range of personal tools such as blogging and instant messaging software, alongside the email service. Microsoft hopes advertisers will be enthusiastic about this idea and invest funding to allow the product to be offered for free to consumers, thus competing with rivals Google and Yahoo.
Most users will have to wait until next year to officially use this service while Microsoft refines it. The tech giant has invited thousands of users to test the beta version since July and plans to expand to millions of testers in the coming months.
This beta email version includes over 10 exciting new features. Notably, there is a spell-check tool that detects and underlines errors made by users while composing messages. When clicking on a misspelled word, the service suggests the correct spelling or more accurate alternatives.
Security features for Mail have also been tightened, particularly in detecting phishing and scam emails. All incoming messages are categorized into three types with varying safety levels: “Verified Sender“, “Unknown Sender“, and “Unsafe“. Emails classified as type 3 will receive special “care”.
The integrated search tool in Windows Live Mail operates faster, scanning through the subject lines and content of each message. The inbox and contact list will also have a scrolling feature, allowing users to browse new messages more quickly.
With a storage capacity of 2GB, Live Mail significantly outperforms Hotmail’s 250MB limit. To try out this beta version, visit Ideas.live.com.
