Windows Live Hotmail, venerable email service, gets venerable email access: you can now download messages to any email program (say, Mozilla Thunderbird), service (say, Gmail) and device (say, iPhone Mail) using POP — at least if your account is registered in the right country.
You need not hurry downloading all mail and delete it from the server, though. Windows Live Hotmail now comes with storage growing as you go. You start with 5 GB. Also new in this latest iteration of Windows Live Hotmail: a way to quickly add maps, restaurants images and other info to emails and updates (like new photos, travel plans or blog posts) from your Live connections on the Windows Live Hotmail page.
Windows Live Hotmail is a free email service that gives you 5 GB (and growing) of online storage, fast search, solid security, POP access and an interface easy as a desktop email program.
When it comes to organizing mail, Windows Live Hotmail does not go beyond folders (to saved searches and tags, for example), its spam filter could be more effective, and IMAP access to all online folders would be nice.
Pros
- Windows Live Hotmail is a simple and easy to use free email service akin to desktop email
- You can send from other email addresses using Windows Live Hotmail
- Windows Live Hotmail includes fast search and can be accessed via POP in any email program
Cons
- Windows Live Hotmail lacks virtual folders and tags for message organization
- You cannot access your Windows Live Hotmail account via IMAP
- Keyboard shortcuts would be nice, and the spam filter needs improvement
Description
- Windows Live Hotmail offers free web-based email accounts starting with growing online storage (starting at 5 GB).
- Scanning for phishing attempts, viruses and spam, Windows Live Hotmail protects privacy, security and sanity.
- You can set up Windows Live Hotmail to accept mail only from people in your address book.
- Windows Live Hotmail does not download images from unauthorized senders automatically.
- A reading pane, drag-and-drop ease and rich text editing lend Windows Live Hotmail a desktop-like handling.
- You can set up additional addresses to use in the From: line of mail you send with Windows Live Hotmail.
- Windows Live Hotmail offers fast and universal message search, and filters can sort incoming mail to custom folders.
- Optimized versions of Windows Live Hotmail provide access using various browsers and mobile devices.
- You can have Windows Live Hotmail forward incoming mail between Windows Live Hotmail accounts (Plus: to any email address).
- A vacation auto-responder answers emails for you while you are away.
Guide Review – Windows Live Hotmail – Free Email Service
Slow-loading pages and clumsy operation: the memory of what used to be web-based email — Hotmail — quickly fades as you drag and drop messages in Windows Live Hotmail, swiftly navigate its reading pane and compose rich emails.
Starting with the interface, Windows Live Hotmail is simple in both a very good and not so good a manner. You can search all your mail easily and use custom folders in tandem with filters to sort it. Windows Live Hotmail does not bother you with labels, search folders and the like. At the same time, these tools are missing when you try to organize your messages your way.
Organized or not, Windows Live Hotmail comes with solid security and privacy — it scans for viruses and does not display privacy-infringing images unless authorized, for example —, but its standard spam filter needs improvement. You can report spam easily using a “Junk” button, but that does not seem to have much of an effect.
What does have an effect, of course, is the option to allow only mail from known senders into your Windows Live Hotmail Inbox, which might be useful for some. Windows Live Hotmail does not extend that to a full challenge/response filter, though.
If Windows Live Hotmail still feels too much like web-based email to you, you can use Windows Live Mail for a yet more Windows-like experience or download your messages via POP.
Windows Live Hotmail does not offer IMAP access, though. In reverse, you can use it to send messages from any of your email addresses.
While Windows Live Hotmail does include solid address book and calendar components, the latter in particular seems secluded and not interested in too much interaction with Windows Live Hotmail qua email.
