The beta of Windows Live Mail Desktop has arrived. I tested it out just now. Windows Live Mail Desktop seems to be built on Outlook Express. It’s better than Outlook Express but not as good as Office Outlook 2007.
_(Composing a new mail in Windows Live Mail Desktop.)_
I took some screenshots to show you how is Windows Live Mail Desktop like.
_(Your inbox, you can change your color too. I prefer it black. Click to enlarge.)_
The whole interface instantly reminds me of Windows Live Messenger, you can change the color of your application. And it has a huge advertisement too. Windows Live Mail Desktop checks your online Live Mail. You can add POP3 email even. It’s really Outlook Express in disguise - just nicer.
_(Searches are performed as you type, the results get narrowed down. This turquiose color is the default one in Windows Live Mail Desktop. Click to enlarge.)_
The search is a much needed feature in Microsoft’s mail application. It makes it much easier to find things.
The inclusion of RSS feeds is a good idea. That however requires Internet Explorer 7 beta to be installed. I haven’t done so and is not planning to install that beta anyway.
There are several downsides to Windows Live Mail Desktop. It has a huge advertisement on the right. The navigational tree on the left is a little confusing - I mean what’s Local Folders. Perhaps a more simple interface would be more appealing. It’s missing the ability to add a new email address too. I think showing an image in the contact list like what you see in Windows Live Messenger would be cooler.
As Windows Live Mail Desktop is a beta product, the features may not be complete. As of today, this beta gets 3.5 stars out of 5. It’s cool, but it won’t make me live the Windows Live Mail web interface just yet.
You can test out the beta at Windows Live Ideas.
It looks pretty good, although I don’t think the widescreen thing really works for mail aps because emails are generally pretty short, and if you need to find something important , then it’s always easier to search than scroll. But beside that small thing.. the ads are hideous! I mean isn’t kinda stupid that ppl (well most ppl
) pay good money (like 150$+) for an operating system and they get ads all over the place?
by pketh (Jun 23, 2006 at 6 AM)It’s like the spyware now comes preloaded lol
It’s adware and not spyware. Hotmail has advertisements too and so does the desktop application. I can only say that this desktop application actually looks like a web application. Somehow web application gets the priviledge to have advertisements.
The widescreen thing worked for me though.
Alternatively, you can choose to have the reading pane to be on the top or even switched it off from the main screen.
by Mr. Dew (Jun 24, 2006 at 8 AM)