Better late then never: MSN Hotmail with 1 GB storage
Microsoft finally gives in. On Wednesday Microsoft Corp announced a storage upgrade for MSN Hotmail. The company is increased the storage limit from a mere 250 MB to 1 GB. Plus, the inactive users can get a extended period of 60days, instead of 30 days. This dual offer is valid to people who have been using Hotmail for the past two years. Microsoft is attempting a transition to Microsoft's next generation email service, Windows Live Mail by meeting the ever evolving consumer needs of Hotmail users. Rivals Google's Gmail and Yahoo Mail offer better services and storage as compared to Hotmail.
Microsoft might just have started the "mail storage" war again. The Redmond company has upgraded the mail storage capacity from 250 MB to 1 GB. It has also extended the mail account expiry from 30 days to 60 days. The only hitch being, the offer is open to only those who have been using Hotmail email service for the last two years. So wondering when will you get your new upgrades from Microsoft? Well as reports suggest storage upgrades would start from Asia on November 7. The upgrades are likely to affect ten markets in the region including Australia, China, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore.
Sabeer Bhatia introduced Hotmail to the world, which was later acquired by Microsoft. Currently, Hotmail boasts of 260 million active e-mail accounts. Alex Stewart, sia Pacific Regional Director, Online Services Group, Microsoft said "As we continue to ramp up our Windows Live services across Asia, we also remain focused on enhancing the capabilities of the MSN Hotmail service for our loyal users. Hotmail is one of the world's favourite email services and now we are able to offer our customers an even better service with more storage than ever before."
Initially MSN Hotmail ruled the free email service. But the with the entry of Google Gmail and its massive storage of over 1 GB, people had more options on their hands. Google Gmail did not stop with 1 GB , they went to upgrade their storage to 2 GB (and counting). Not to forget some the ease of use and the kind of services like Chat, word processing and spreadsheet, calendar, photos, toolbar and so it offers. Yahoo mail is not far behind either. Yahoo extended their 100 MB email storage and then a a direct leap to 1 GB. Plus there are rumors of Yahoo integrating their mail with Yahoo messenger, a la Gmail style.
Industry analysts are looking at the Hotmail account from a different perspective. The Hotmail revival is more to do with Windows Live Mail more than anything else. Windows Live Mail is the next generation of Web mail from Microsoft, though currently in beta. Some features in Windows Live Mail are 2 GB storage space, 120 days expiration period, anti-phishing features, address autocomplete, and drag-and-drop functionality which makes it easier to read, send, and organize email messages. Microsoft's new offering is directly pitched against Gmail and Yahoo Mail.
On the other hand, Gmail and Yahoo Mail have moved over from being a conventional email service provider to a more all-in-one place for all kinds of services. The kind of services both these giants offer is something MSN Hotmail or Live Mail will have to achieve if they want to give their rivals a run for their money.
Krishna Prasad, Head of Programming, MSN India and Windows Live said if there is something to say, "We have 465 million unique active MSN users and 250 million Hotmail users, and these are our very loyal users. For the coming festive season, we have an exclusive tie up with 'Guru' and the movie clips and many other promos will be on MSN. This month, our Don Chase is on till the end of the month, and we are getting good response. We are also coming up with a very interesting Treasure Hunt which will be a nation wide contest, and I can assure you it's going to be different from all contests anyone has experienced so far."
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