Microsoft Outlook for Android hits Google Play in first public preview release [VIDEO]
More and more Microsoft apps just keep making their way to Google Play. Today sees the migration of Outlook, Microsoft’s email platform for those who aren’t fans of the likes of Gmail and Yahoo. The app — which is in open preview status for Android phones and tablets — will give you easy access to your Microsoft-handled mail, calendars and contacts.
Microsoft makes a pretty good case for using their official app over a built-in email client. For one, they’ve stuffed a lot of companion services into one app so you won’t have to deal with clunky app interactions or deal with having to leave the email app to transfer an appointment over to your calendar.
Another benefit to using the Outlook app is if you use Microsoft’s OneDrive for all your cloud storage needs. Attachments can easily be backed up and saved to your OneDrive account, and on the flipside it’ll be rather easy to attach something that’s sitting in your OneDrive account.
Thankfully Microsoft is opting to embrace the design nuances of each platform they put their app on instead of going with their own user interface, so you’re in for a real Material Design-infused treat. Not too shabby on that one, Microsoft.
On a slightly related note, Microsoft also announced that their Office for Android Tablets apps are officially out of preview status. The apps don’t get any new features as part of that milestone, but hey — it’s stable, it’s free (for basic editing) and it’s just as good as the versions you’ll download on any platform. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Office for Tablets can be downloaded here (Excel), here (PowerPoint) and here (Word), while Outlook users interested in the preview app for Android can head right here.
[via Microsoft 1, 2]