Microsoft (MSFT) Sends 'Hotmail' Packing in New Email War with Google (GOOG)
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Overall Analyst Rating:
NEUTRAL (= Flat)
Dividend Yield: 2.7%
Revenue Growth %: +17.7%
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The war for email superiority is a gritty one...and it doesn't pay to play nice.
With that in mind, Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT) is previewing its new "Outlook" email service, choosing to drop the famed "Hotmail" name on the eve of its Windows 8 launch in October. The updated email service will feature a new look and special features to help users manage junk mail, but the most notable update could be Outlook’s ability to link with social networking.
Outlook is a name that is already familiar to many of Microsoft’s customers, since it has been a standard feature in Microsoft Office for years. Microsoft has big plans for Outlook, including document storage, Web Apps, and eventual integration with Skype. Other social media outlets featured include Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), Twitter, Google+, Flicker, and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD).
Today’s announcement is an attempt by Microsoft to capture growth, something that has eluded the service since competition began popping up. While Hotmail is still the largest online mail service, with 324 million users, it has been losing customers to Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Gmail.
But, Outlook email isn't the first attempt for Microsoft to get back in the limelight; many have probably used its search engine Bing, which also runs Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) searches. Though Bing has slowly and steadily been making up ground on Google search, the gains have been flat as of recent. If you ever tell a friend "Hang on, I'm gonna Bing something real quick," you'll understand why.
Let's hope Hotmail devotees like the plethora of new features in Outlook, or at least well enough to not switch their alliance.
Microsoft shares are down 0.5 percent Tuesday.
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With that in mind, Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT) is previewing its new "Outlook" email service, choosing to drop the famed "Hotmail" name on the eve of its Windows 8 launch in October. The updated email service will feature a new look and special features to help users manage junk mail, but the most notable update could be Outlook’s ability to link with social networking.
Outlook is a name that is already familiar to many of Microsoft’s customers, since it has been a standard feature in Microsoft Office for years. Microsoft has big plans for Outlook, including document storage, Web Apps, and eventual integration with Skype. Other social media outlets featured include Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), Twitter, Google+, Flicker, and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD).
Today’s announcement is an attempt by Microsoft to capture growth, something that has eluded the service since competition began popping up. While Hotmail is still the largest online mail service, with 324 million users, it has been losing customers to Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Gmail.
But, Outlook email isn't the first attempt for Microsoft to get back in the limelight; many have probably used its search engine Bing, which also runs Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) searches. Though Bing has slowly and steadily been making up ground on Google search, the gains have been flat as of recent. If you ever tell a friend "Hang on, I'm gonna Bing something real quick," you'll understand why.
Let's hope Hotmail devotees like the plethora of new features in Outlook, or at least well enough to not switch their alliance.
Microsoft shares are down 0.5 percent Tuesday.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
*NEW - Download StreetInsider's FREE iPhone and iPad App - Click Here
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