As a former tech support guru and longtime Hotmail user, I know the pain of Android users who happen to love Hotmail. You’ve spent the past few years missing emails, manually checking your inbox for new messages and if your account also synced with Outlook… forget about it. You might not be getting email at all.
Now, in answer to the hopes of countless customers who use Hotmail and Android, the official Hotmail Android app is available in the Android Market. Does it bridge the gap between Hotmail and Android? Check out our Android app review of Hotmail to find out.
Features
Hotmail
The Hotmail Android app does what we hope most email applications do: sync email from an account to your phone.
In a stroke of genius the Hotmail Android app also wirelessly synchronizes your Hotmail calendar and contact list with a simple check of a box. However it does not sync custom folders, which is a bit disappointing.
You can add multiple Hotmail and Live accounts in a single app, making it quite easy to check messages by individual account or all in the same place via an All Emails tab.
There is an extensive set of customizable rules for downloading email content. This might come in handy for users with limited data plans.
For email sync the fasted setting is for 15 minutes. If you live off your Hotmail account that may seem a bit slow, and I agree completely.
Layout & Design
Hotmail
As I mentioned earlier, the Hotmail Android app is organized in tabs. From the Home tab you can select any email Hotmail or Live account with a touch to instantly view that inbox. Or you can access multiple accounts in the same folder by tapping All Emails.
Additional tabs will appear for individual accounts and there is a dedicated contact search tab that works quite well even though it duplicates results.
It may sound strange, but I like the general layout of the Hotmail Android app a bit better than the current Gmail interface for Android. I’m a sucker for a universal inbox and this app delivers. Also the attachment display screen is, quite frankly, amazing, with full color thumbnails and easy access.
Functionality
Alright, down to brass tax. Does the Hotmail Android app deliver?
After sending multiple test emails and checking delivery times the verdict is in.
If you’re cool with waiting for your 15 minute push schedule, the Hotmail Android app works like a dream. I didn’t have to manually sync the account, and I even got a nifty Hotmail notification.
Outlook still complicates things. As always, if you have a Hotmail account that you want to reliably receive on your Android, do not sync it with Outlook. Even with the correct server settings it’s tricky at best.
Value
As a free offering, Hotmail definitely delivers with increased functionality and a great contact and calendar sync for their customers. I wouldn’t look for a Gmail app on Windows Mobile any time soon, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Hotmail
Android Apps Review Details: Hotmail Android app is free. This app requires Android 2.1 - 2.3.3. You may download Hotmail from the Android Market.
