Outlook.com will replace Hotmail

Hardly Microsoft has presented the world for the next version of Office before things start to change quite seriously.

The world's second-largest webmail service, Hotmail, has to be replaced by a new webmail service with a name known for many people: Outlook.

Hotmail to be phased If you are one of the approximately 370 million people using Hotmail worldwide, you may face a change in your email habits.

Microsoft has decided to run its email services under the Outlook name, whether it is using an Outlook client on one's PC, or if it is retrieved from a web browser.

Microsoft has not officially announced anything about the strategy, but Hotmail seems to be phased out over a long period of time, otherwise it does not make sense to have two webmail clients available where one designally complies with the new version of Office, and the other is not.

Already now, you can use Outlook.com simply by logging in with its Hotmail account. You just have to go to www.outlook.com and sign up. Outlook.com test site was launched Monday evening, US west coast time, and is a bit of a graphic cleanup relative to Hotmail.

Simple and Spartan Design
The design is far more streamlined and minimalist, just as it is in the new Office. There is no doubt that Microsoft wants Outlook.com to work out and is easy to use on a tablet with a touchscreen. It should not require either physical keyboard or mouse to use Outlook.com effectively.

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Advertisers that may seem quite annoying on the current Hotmail platform are also shaved down to some text-based advertisements resembling them on Google's search pages. A mobile version of the new Outlook.com site has not yet been launched. You will be automatically taken over to the mobile version of Hotmail.com if you try to log in from a smartphone.

Use Skype directly from your webmail

With the new webmail service, Microsoft is attempting to fight up with Google if Gmail service has recently overtaken Hotmail as the world's most popular webmail. Microsoft gives it all that they have and utilizes wisely a bundle of tools that they find in their own toolbox.

One example is Skype, which Microsoft bought last year in May. You will be able to use Skype directly from Outlook.com, as well as you can use Messenger directly in the system. Both things are demonstrated in the first commercial video for Outlook.com, as you