Although Gmail is the most widely used free mail server, it does not mean that it is the only one. Not even the best. Microsoft, without going any further, has its own mail server: Outlook (or Hotmail, who created it a long time ago). And, in addition to having a much more beautiful and well-cared web interface, it is always concerned with finding the way that users can make use of their mail, and the rest of the company’s services, in the best possible way. And, with this new extension, this is going to change even more.
If you use Microsoft mail, you cannot miss this extension
Microsoft wants to make it easier for users of their Outlook email accounts and Hotmail to read their messages at any time. And, for this, the company has just launched a new extension (still in the testing phase) for its browser Edge.
The new Microsoft Outlook extension is designed to allow us to send and receive email, manage our calendar, tasks and much more without opening a new tab. This extension opens a floating window from which we can access all this information. The main features of the extension are:
- Access our email accounts easily (whether personal or work).
- Read the mail, send new messages and see notifications when we receive new emails.
- View the calendar and create new events.
- View tasks and add new ones to lists.
- Manage all Microsoft contacts.
Almost everything we can do from the Outlook web we will be able to do quickly from this extension, without having to open a new tab. In addition, it has a button from which, with a click, we can open a new tab with the mail client.
If we want to test this new extension on our computer, we can download it from the following link. Of course, we remember that it only works in Microsoft Edge. We will not be able to use it, at the moment, in other browsers. To use it, we simply have to download it and click on the icon that will appear to the right of the address bar. We click on the button Login, we enter our data in the floating window that will appear and that’s it. The new extension will already be working and we will have access to all our emails, and to the Outlook tools.
Will the Outlook extension come to Chrome?
Microsoft has decided that, for now, its new Outlook extension is exclusive to Edge, its own browser. This decision makes sense in a way, as it invites users to give their new web browser a try. However, it also has an important handicap, and that is that there are many users who will be left out just for not going to Edge.
So could we see this extension in Google Chrome? Most likely, yes. We must bear in mind that Edge and Chrome share the same engine (Chromium), so the extension can be easily ported to the Google browser without having to make practically any changes. For now, the new extension will be exclusive to Edge, at least for the duration of the “preview” phase of testing. But when the final version approaches, we will most likely see it in Google Chrome as well.