Outlook

Outlook for iOS gains Skype integration, Mac app updated with Split View and full-screen support

Microsoft Outlook is an excellent email client, not just for mobile devices but on desktop platforms, too. And now, it’s about to get a lot better. According to Microsoft, Outlook for Mac now now officially supports Full Screen view for OS X Yosemite and up and OS X’s native full-screen view.

On the mobile front, Outlook for iOS has received a nice little update which brings Skype integration for calendar events so users can now make any meeting a Skype call that can be launched from the calendar event in Outlook.

How to fix ‘Outlook can’t upgrade your database’ errors when launching Microsoft Outlook on Mac

Last night, I decided that I would give the desktop version of Outlook a chance. Unfortunately, I ran into a problem when first launching the app. After doing a bit of troubleshooting, and lurking around the app’s bundle, I was finally able to fix the issue.

If you’ve ever ran into the “can’t upgrade your database error” when launching Outlook, then you may want to give this fix a try.

Microsoft Outlook gains 3D Touch support for the iPhone 6s

Microsoft Outlook is one of the finest email clients available for iOS, and this evening, it received an update for iOS 9 that brings 3D Touch support to the iPhone 6s. By using 3D Touch on the Outlook app icon, you can quickly view your calendar, or compose a new event or email directly.

With the demise of Mailbox, I’m aware that a lot of you will be looking for a new email client to call home. I know that lots of people have been raving about Spark, and rightfully so. But I think you should give Outlook a chance as well.

Microsoft folds Sunrise functionality into much-improved Outlook for iOS app

Developers of Microsoft-owned calendar app, called Sunrise, announced in a blog post that the app won’t be receiving updates going forward as the team has worked hard on integrating Sunrise functionality into the Windows maker’s much-improved mobile Outlook client for iPhone and iPad.

Sunrise Calendar was last updated in the App Store more than four months ago, adding integration with Office 365 events. Just yesterday, Outlook for iOS received a fresh new look alongside a brand native Apple Watch app built on watchOS 2.

At the same time, Microsoft announced that the mobile Outlook app has gone from a couple hundred downloads to more than thirty million installs on smartphones and tablets.

Outlook’s Apple Watch app updated with replying from your wrist, all-new glance and more

Outlook’s Apple Watch has been updated Thursday with the ability to reply to emails directly from your wrist using Siri dictation, emoji or canned responses, among other new features and enhancements.

The new features make the wearable app much more functional than before. Before today, Outlook for Apple Watch only allowed you to see your emails but not reply to or interact with them.

Other changes in Outlook 1.3.5 for iOS include a glance with upcoming appointments and incoming emails, rich notifications that can be interacted with and other tidbits.

Flow by Outlook, Microsoft’s hybrid IM/email iPhone app, inadvertently leaked

Microsoft has inadvertently leaked an upcoming hybrid email and messaging app via a download webpage marked “Microsoft Confidential”, ZDNet reported Wednesday.

Called ‘Flow by Outlook,’ the lightweight email app should release for the iPhone. It’s being billed as a “great way to have rapid email conversations on your phone with the people who are important to you,” as per leaked changelog.

Microsoft releases native Outlook app for iOS

Microsoft on Thursday released the official Outlook email client in the App Store (not to be confused with the native Outlook Web App for the iPhone). Optimized for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, the iOS 8-only app is based on Microsoft’s $200 million purchase of the popular mobile email app Acompli.

Featuring a built-in calendar, comprehensive search features, gesture-based interface akin to Dropbox-owned Mailbox and support for popular cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft’s own OneDrive service, it brings together the core tools you need to get things done in one sweet package.

Microsoft revamps Outlook for OS X ahead of new Office for Mac version in H2 2015

Microsoft in a post Friday over at the official Office blog announced immediate availability of a redesigned version of Outlook for Mac while confirming that a new version of Office for Mac will be ready in the first half of 2015 as a public beta, and in the second half of 2015 for public consumption.

Office 365 subscribers will get the next version of Office (which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) at no additional cost, the Windows giant said and added that it will release a perpetual license of Office for Mac in the same timeframe.

Microsoft now encrypts your OneDrive connections and Outlook emails

Microsoft’s OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is great if you need to store your files in the cloud and sync them between devices seamlessly. And with the recently introduced 15GB free tier, OneDrive has become even more competitive compared to Dropbox and its pedestrian 2GB free tier.

Also, Microsoft’s web-based email – which went through several rebranding efforts and is currently known as Outlook.com – has its loyal following.

Those who’ve been concerned about general security of their emails and OneDrive files needn’t worry as Microsoft now employs end-to-end encryption on both services to prevent eavesdropping as data travels between servers…

How to set up a Hotmail account on iPhone

Yesterday I received a call from a friend asking how to set up a Hotmail email account on her new iPhone. I was actually surprised she was asking this because she already has an iPad and didn’t seem to have any problem setting up Hotmail on it.

While looking into her issue, I remembered that the Hotmail brand has been retired and replaced by Outlook, which I assume is causing a lot of confusion for people still looking for the Hotmail option in the iPhone or iPad settings.

I figured that if my friend needed instructions on how to set up Hotmail on iPhone, she probably wasn’t the only one, hence this post…

Mail Rules Aims to Add Structure to Your Inbox

Since I’m a Gmail user, all of my email is already organized on Google’s servers before hitting my iPhone. This is done by means of filters, which are essentially rules in Outlook-speak.

Rules have been noticeably absent from the iPhone’s cache of email features, but that’s probably because most people have setups like I do, meaning that their email is sorted and filtered prior to being downloaded to the iPhone.

For those of you that don’t have this luxury, Mail Rules — a jailbreak tweak for iOS 3.2 and up — aims to fill in the gaps. But does the tweak’s shortcomings rule it out?