MS launches Outlook email subscriptions
All the email you can eat for 40 quid
Posted in Applications, 20th January 2005 11:20 GMT
Join our expert panel in discussing application security
Microsoft has launched a subscription version of Outlook that will connect to Hotmail or MSN accounts. For $59 a year (£39.99 in the UK), subscribers get a copy of Outlook 2003 for Subscription Services, 2GB of online storage and the ability to send messages with attachments of up to 20MB.
This is the first time Microsoft has made one of its products available through a downloadable subscription service. It will initially be available in the US, UK and Canada, where it will be available in both English and French.
Currently, users who have Outlook 2003 can import their email to Outlook from MSN or Hotmail. This service used to be free, but because of abuse by spammers, Microsoft said it had to limit the service's availability to Hotmail Plus subscribers ($19.95 annually) or MSN Premium account holders ($99.95 annually). The company says that with this announcement it is trying to offer more to those who have Hotmail accounts, but don't have a copy of Office on their machines.
Outlook 2003 for Subscription Services comes with spam filters and anti-virus technology. Customers can also blacklist up to 500 email addresses, Microsoft says.
The company has not ruled out the possibility of making other Office products available by subscription, but say it has no such plans as yet. This launch, then, is something of a testing ground. Microsoft will extend the service into other countries with similarly high broadband penetration levels.
Microsoft is launching the product at a discounted rate of $44.95 to anyone who signs up by 19 April 2005. In the UK, the discounted rate is £29.99. The press release is here. ®
Related stories
Yahoo! - the thinking corporate's email solution
MS predicts stampede for Hotmail.co.uk
Microsoft ends free Hotmail access from Outlook


Solving on-premise email challenges with on-demand services
The business case for application security
Airport insecurity: the case of lost laptops
The best practices guide for application security
Impact of the dramatic increase in devices on the cost to support
Google code cloud punts on-demand embarrassment
Microsoft weighs next-phase in open-source support
iTunes minus the player: hack your Apple beats
Oracle plans cloud strategy