Microsoft betting big on new Outlook.com
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft is so confident it has the Internet's best email service that it is about to spend at least $30 million to send its message across the U.S.
The barrage begins Tuesday when Microsoft's twist on email, Outlook.com, escalates an assault on rival services from Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., AOL Inc. and a long list of Internet service providers.
As part of the process, all users of Microsoft's Hotmail and other email services operating under different domains such as MSN.com will be automatically converted to Outlook.com by the summer, if they don't voluntarily switch before then. All the old messages, contacts and settings in the old inboxes will be exported to Outlook.com. Users will also be able to keep their old addresses.
Email remains a key battleground, even at a time when more people are texting each other on phones.
People still regularly check their inboxes, albeit increasingly on their smartphones. The recurring email habit provides Internet companies a way to keep people coming back to websites. It gives people a reason to log in during their visits so it's easier for email providers to track their activities. Frequent visits and personal identification are two of the keys to selling ads, the main way most websites make money.
That's why Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have been retooling their email services in recent months.
After keeping Outlook.com in a "preview" phase since July 31, Microsoft Corp. is ready to accept all comers.
To welcome new users, Microsoft is financing what it believes to be the biggest marketing blitz in the history of email. Outlook.com will be featured in ads running on primetime TV, radio stations, websites, billboards and buses. Microsoft expects to spend somewhere between $30 million to $90 million on the Outlook campaign, which will run for at least three months.
The Outlook ads will overlap with an anti-Gmail marketing campaign that Microsoft launched earlier this month. The "Scroogled" attacks depict Gmail as a snoopy service that scans the contents of messages to deliver ads related to topics being discussed.
The Gmail ads are meant to be educational while the Outlook campaign is motivational, said Dharmesh Mehta, Outlook.com's senior director.
"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.
By Microsoft's own admission, Hotmail had lost the competitive edge that once made it the world's largest email service. The lack of innovation left an opening for Google to exploit when it unveiled Gmail nearly nine years ago.
Gmail is now the industry leader, although estimates on its popularity vary.
Google says Gmail has more than 425 million accountholders, including those that only visit on smartphones and other mobile device. The latest data from research firm comScore, which doesn't include mobile traffic, shows Gmail with 306 million worldwide users through December, up 21 percent from the previous year. Yahoo's email ranked second with 293 million users, a 2 percent decrease from the previous year, followed by Hotmail at 267 million users, a 16 percent decline from the previous year.
Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., is counting on Outlook.com to catapult the company back to the top of the email heap. During the preview period, Outlook attracted 60 million accountholders, including about 20 million that defected from Gmail, according to Microsoft. Comscore listed Outlook with 38 million users through December.
The new features being introduced in Outlook include: the ability to send massive files, including hundreds of photos at a time, in a single email; address books that automatically update new contact information that connections post on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; and about 60 percent fewer ads than Hotmail.
None of these features are revolutionary. Google already has been giving its users the option to switch to a new version of Gmail that also allows for larger files to be sent in a single email. And address books in Gmail already fetch new contact information posted on Google Plus, although it doesn't yet mine Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Google declined to comment on Outlook.com. The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., plans to convert all of its Gmail users to its redesigned format within the next few months.
Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. revamped its email service late last year in an effort to provide a more consistent experience on personal computers and mobile devices.
Outlook.com is the latest in a series of major product leases from Microsoft, which has been struggling to regain the cachet that once made it the world's most valuable technology company.
Now, both Apple Inc. and Google are worth more because they have been growing far faster than Microsoft as their products win more fans. Apple's biggest gains have come from the iPhone and IPad, while Google has been benefiting from its dominance in Internet search and its widely used Android software for mobile devices.
Microsoft has been trying to catch up with a major makeover of its Windows operating system, new smartphone software and a tablet computer called Surface. Like Outlook.com, all those products have been backed by expensive marketing campaigns in recent months.
The barrage begins Tuesday when Microsoft's twist on email, Outlook.com, escalates an assault on rival services from Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., AOL Inc. and a long list of Internet service providers.
As part of the process, all users of Microsoft's Hotmail and other email services operating under different domains such as MSN.com will be automatically converted to Outlook.com by the summer, if they don't voluntarily switch before then. All the old messages, contacts and settings in the old inboxes will be exported to Outlook.com. Users will also be able to keep their old addresses.
Email remains a key battleground, even at a time when more people are texting each other on phones.
People still regularly check their inboxes, albeit increasingly on their smartphones. The recurring email habit provides Internet companies a way to keep people coming back to websites. It gives people a reason to log in during their visits so it's easier for email providers to track their activities. Frequent visits and personal identification are two of the keys to selling ads, the main way most websites make money.
That's why Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have been retooling their email services in recent months.
After keeping Outlook.com in a "preview" phase since July 31, Microsoft Corp. is ready to accept all comers.
To welcome new users, Microsoft is financing what it believes to be the biggest marketing blitz in the history of email. Outlook.com will be featured in ads running on primetime TV, radio stations, websites, billboards and buses. Microsoft expects to spend somewhere between $30 million to $90 million on the Outlook campaign, which will run for at least three months.
The Outlook ads will overlap with an anti-Gmail marketing campaign that Microsoft launched earlier this month. The "Scroogled" attacks depict Gmail as a snoopy service that scans the contents of messages to deliver ads related to topics being discussed.
The Gmail ads are meant to be educational while the Outlook campaign is motivational, said Dharmesh Mehta, Outlook.com's senior director.
"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.
By Microsoft's own admission, Hotmail had lost the competitive edge that once made it the world's largest email service. The lack of innovation left an opening for Google to exploit when it unveiled Gmail nearly nine years ago.
Gmail is now the industry leader, although estimates on its popularity vary.
Google says Gmail has more than 425 million accountholders, including those that only visit on smartphones and other mobile device. The latest data from research firm comScore, which doesn't include mobile traffic, shows Gmail with 306 million worldwide users through December, up 21 percent from the previous year. Yahoo's email ranked second with 293 million users, a 2 percent decrease from the previous year, followed by Hotmail at 267 million users, a 16 percent decline from the previous year.
Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., is counting on Outlook.com to catapult the company back to the top of the email heap. During the preview period, Outlook attracted 60 million accountholders, including about 20 million that defected from Gmail, according to Microsoft. Comscore listed Outlook with 38 million users through December.
The new features being introduced in Outlook include: the ability to send massive files, including hundreds of photos at a time, in a single email; address books that automatically update new contact information that connections post on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; and about 60 percent fewer ads than Hotmail.
None of these features are revolutionary. Google already has been giving its users the option to switch to a new version of Gmail that also allows for larger files to be sent in a single email. And address books in Gmail already fetch new contact information posted on Google Plus, although it doesn't yet mine Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Google declined to comment on Outlook.com. The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., plans to convert all of its Gmail users to its redesigned format within the next few months.
Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. revamped its email service late last year in an effort to provide a more consistent experience on personal computers and mobile devices.
Outlook.com is the latest in a series of major product leases from Microsoft, which has been struggling to regain the cachet that once made it the world's most valuable technology company.
Now, both Apple Inc. and Google are worth more because they have been growing far faster than Microsoft as their products win more fans. Apple's biggest gains have come from the iPhone and IPad, while Google has been benefiting from its dominance in Internet search and its widely used Android software for mobile devices.
Microsoft has been trying to catch up with a major makeover of its Windows operating system, new smartphone software and a tablet computer called Surface. Like Outlook.com, all those products have been backed by expensive marketing campaigns in recent months.
No thanks Microsoft. I hate outlook and will never use it or try it again. They should rename it "Lookout" instead if "Outlook" because of the hackability and tons of spam "Outlook" is known for.
So for outlook you have to pay $20 to upgrade to the "AD-Free" version. For gmail you can simply go to settings > web clicks and disable the little box there and you won't see any adds. Ever.
Yes, outlook is "better".
I been using this for awhile it is different but I don't dislike it... I use gmail as well... for my droid phone overall it is not too bad... of course I have been fighting the hard time find a good universal email client that lets me have all my accounts there but separates them and does not 'combine' all my sent items... all my old emails and such into one massive heap... that is my biggest turn off
The problem is....in the 90s it was a POS and everyone was able to hack it, they lost my trust and I will never us it again.
I will stick with my tried and true Gmail. I have never had any spam, hacking, or otherwise loss with Google. I had a hotmail and live account that both were hacked even with the best of security and changing of passwords. I think to be more accurate they need to rename their company Microvirus.
I find it amusing that the Outlook 2013 Preview doesn't even work properly with Outlook.com STILL! Why would I purchase something that sucks in preview? And I agree with remarks below, they better get their A game on with ALL phone models with a solid Outlook email app! The current one sucks and doesn't even work on my Google phone. GET IT TOGETHER MS!!!
Outlook? I don't think so.... Why doesn't Microsoft make a smarter investment?
"We are trying to push people who have gotten lazy and comfortable..." Not a good way to communicate to your customers - calling them lazy. Maybe they are comfortable with their other email service because they find it better than yours, how about that?
Frankly, the ads are a mix of annoying and amusing. I find it annoying when I take a quick look at something online, then suddenly there are ads for that exact same website everywhere, and amusing when I BUY something online and they continue to advertise the exact same product I already purchased.
@tats76Â I was going to post the exact same thing. I would prefer to patronize a company that doesnt refer to me as lazy or lethargic. They can spend all the money they want, but they are not going to see any loyalty from me.
Micro$oft seems to be the 800 pound gorilla that wants to force products on the consumer instead of letting the consumer decide what they want.Â
I'm personally very tired of software companie force-feeding their garbage to me. It does not matter if it is Gmail or Hotmail or Windows Live Mail or any other software. If they are mining my email, they must be exceedingly bored since I receive so little, and their advertising is totally irelevant to my intersests. Email can be valuable, but most people today are not sending substantive messages to anybody, so that phones that fetch internet or email or texts or any other content is basically an advertising outlet and concerned very little in reality with anything of interest to users. Elderly poeple are interrested in the grandkids and sons and daughters and other relatives and whatever software they use is strictly for communication not sales. So advertising to the elderly is a waste of money.
They still need to update their mobile app if they want it to be successful. The current outlook.com app is atrocious. Looks like an app from 4 years ago.Â
@cgass177 Outlook 2013 looks and behaves like it's from 15 years ago, so I wouldn't hold my breath.
@Ken @cgass177 Ken, that's a good point. I do think that 2013 is an improvement over previous versions. It has been generally the same look for 15 years though, but at least at my business that's what people want. Even upgrading from 2007 to 2010 had people confused for weeks.Â
Mozilla Thunderbird on my desktop, K-9 Mail on my phone. I'm covered.
@glynes Microsoft annoys the hell out of me; their marketing campaigns are stupid and desperate attempts for attention, the products are increasingly out of touch with consumers, and I have lost almost all faith in that company. Used to be a great company and a fun company to work for; I had my first contract job there in 2000 and worked off and on since then until 2007. I wont go back there now, I have paid my dues. that being said, I never have liked Firefox or Chrome. For some reason Internet Explorer has always been ok with me.
@glynes The last time I used Thunderbird, it was so terrible, I had to go back to Outlook. Everything was an "Add-On"... The calendar could not be centrally managed, etc. I'm really waiting for someone to actually take on Outlook because so far, no other application can. Which is really sad.
Of course, now that Outlook 2013 is out, and I've stopped laughing... I need to clarify "I'm really waiting for someone to take on Outlook 2010"