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By Romit Mehta on April 20th, 2013
Android users rejoice, especially if you also use Outlook.com. Microsoft announced on April 16 via their Outlook Blog that they have updated their Android app for Outlook.com. The update is not an incremental update by any stretch of imagination. It is a complete overhaul, and it looks beautiful.
Outlook.com Android app
As you can see above, the first thing that you notice is the overhaul of the user interface. The look is now distinctively Metro, looking very much like the Windows Phone and Windows 8 mail apps as also Outlook.com on the web.
Besides the visual changes, some new features were also added to the app. Conversation view for messages is now introduced in the app. In addition, there is also a mark as junk which I am surprised was left out all this time. Finally, the app now allows for viewing messages by read/unread status and provides the ability to view only flagged messages.
Outlook.com Android app contetxtual menu
It is worth noting that despite Android supporting Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) protocol, Microsoft were forced to build their own app for Outlook.com because, per Microsoft, different versions of Android have different implementations of EAS. In order to provide a consistent experience across devices, it was felt necessary to build a separate app. This seems to fall in line with how Android works, given that their email client is not stellar, and how Google itself has chosen to build a GMail app for its own service.
If you use Hotmail/Outlook.com and have an Android device, this is a must-have. Download it here.
Images from the Office Blogs.
Read more at Use Android? Get the Latest Outlook.com App Update
Android users rejoice, especially if you also use Outlook.com. Microsoft announced on April 16 via their Outlook Blog that they have updated their Android app for Outlook.com. The update is not an incremental update by any stretch of imagination. It is a complete overhaul, and it looks beautiful.
Outlook.com Android app
As you can see above, the first thing that you notice is the overhaul of the user interface. The look is now distinctively Metro, looking very much like the Windows Phone and Windows 8 mail apps as also Outlook.com on the web.
Besides the visual changes, some new features were also added to the app. Conversation view for messages is now introduced in the app. In addition, there is also a mark as junk which I am surprised was left out all this time. Finally, the app now allows for viewing messages by read/unread status and provides the ability to view only flagged messages.
Outlook.com Android app contetxtual menu
It is worth noting that despite Android supporting Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) protocol, Microsoft were forced to build their own app for Outlook.com because, per Microsoft, different versions of Android have different implementations of EAS. In order to provide a consistent experience across devices, it was felt necessary to build a separate app. This seems to fall in line with how Android works, given that their email client is not stellar, and how Google itself has chosen to build a GMail app for its own service.
If you use Hotmail/Outlook.com and have an Android device, this is a must-have. Download it here.
Images from the Office Blogs.
Read more at Use Android? Get the Latest Outlook.com App Update
