Attention email users
Heads up, Outlook users of the past, present, and future. After a brief preview period for collecting user feedback and suggestions, Microsoft is rolling out a “fine-tuned and refined” new Outlook.
If you already have Outlook, all you have to do is sit back and wait for your update to arrive, as Microsoft is releasing a “steady stream of updates” to millions of users each week to Outlook for iOS, Android, and Windows 10.
Most of the updates have to do with streamlining your email communications, and with making Outlook a place where you can do more without ever leaving your inbox. In a way, Outlook seeks to make your email inbox the control room for your entire life, often by partnering with other apps and services.
Here are some of the cool new features:
For example, using the new Outlook you can send or receive funds using PayPal directly from your inbox. You can also seamlessly transition between instant message chat, Skype, and email. You can attach files automatically from the cloud, or from Dropbox or Box, as either links or attachments.
Speaking of attachments, if you need to edit a document, you can now do so through any Office app, side-by-side with your email. Outlook simply opens a Word, Power Point, or Excel window directly in your inbox.
If you are suggesting a new restaurant to check out, you can use the Yelp add-in to place reviews, photos, addresses and phone numbers directly into your message. You can even use an Outlook add-in to schedule a ride with Uber – in fact, you get a $20 discount on your first ride just for using Uber on Outlook.
Emails containing specific tasks, like “pick up some toilet paper on your way home” or “try to get me those reports by Monday” can be added automatically to your Wunderlist to-do list.
Outlook also wants to help you sync up information from your email and other online activities with your Outlook calendar. Without leaving your inbox, you can schedule a Skype date or book a bus or plane ticket that will automatically appear in your calendar.
Outlook has made numerous changes, big and small, to improve your email experience, and with these updates, defectors may take a second look at their email options.
