Is NewMail the new Hotmail? Microsoft's Strategy for Gmail
Is NewMail the new Hotmail? Leaked shots show biggest revamp to Microsoft's inbox in a decade...
Is NewMail the new Hotmail? Leaked shots show biggest revamp to Microsoft's inbox in a decade (thanks to some design tips from Gmail)   Published:  10:35 EST, 14 June 2012   |  Updated:  03:49 EST, 15 June 2012      When it comes to email it seems that if you can’t beat ‘em you should join ‘em.Hotmail, the world’s biggest email service, is being rebooted in the hope of bringing back millions of users - thanks to a striking resemblance to Gmail.Newmail has a clean look which recalls its Google adversary, right down to font which has been used for labels.Microsoft has claimed it has a ‘fluid and interactive design’ which is expressly designed to work well on mobile devices such as phones or tablets. Liveside leaked this image of Newmail - 'the new Hotmail' - with a sleeker, perhaps Gmail-influenced look But by apparently basing its design on its biggest rival, Microsoft has all but admitted that Gmail was better all along.Hotmail is still the biggest email provider in the world with some 360 million users, but Gmail has all but caught up with 350 million. Gmail’s growth has also been astonishing and shot up from just 260 million users last October.According to LiveSide, Newmail will initially be available on an opt-in basis to existing Hotmail customers, but Microsoft has not ruled out making it compulsory in future.Screenshots obtained by liveslide.net show a significantly more attractive home screen, with none of the clutter which had long bedevilled Hotmail.Newmail will be linked to Facebook and Twitter and will allow you to ‘keep your contacts automatically in sync’ and see what your friends are doing on the service. Similar to GMail: The new look appears to have taken a few leafs from GMail's design page The new name however appears to be just the title for the service and users will still have @hotmail email addresses.When Gmail launched in 2004 users began migrating to it because they found it quicker and easier to use.A recent redesign however turned some off though with critics claiming it was too dense and added more steps to do the same things as before.Microsoft should take note that a particular source of irritation was that users were not given the choice of staying with the old format and were forced to migrate.On technology blogs many were unimpressed with the Newmail and said they still would not use it.On TechCrunch commenter Chris Acky wrote: ‘I doubt anyone will ever even notice this change... The reasons why no one uses Hotmail is evident from your screenshot.’John Kneeland added: ‘I almost wish they would call it newmail, because using a @hotmail.com address is right up there with @aol.com’.And in a riposte to both Google and Microsoft Greg Giles said: ‘Looks almost as boring and uninspiring as Gmail.’ 