14 DAY TRIAL // With Windows Live Hotmail having evolved to Wave 4 this summer, Microsoft continues to invest in the service, adding new features, the latest of which is designed to attract users of rival mail providers by offering them the possibility to keep their current account, which enjoying all the benefits of Hotmail. At the start of this month, the Redmond company started rolling out EASI ID to users worldwide. The feature allows Hotmail to include any existing email addresses, the software giant reveals.
Essentially, Hotmail is capable of replicating the functionality of a desktop email client, by centralizing various mail addressed into a single application.
“We begin rolling out a feature that makes it easy to use Hotmail with any existing email address. Just as you can use Microsoft Outlook with an address from any service, you can now do the same with Hotmail on the web,” noted Dick Craddock, Group Program Manager Windows Live Hotmail.
It appears that because of the way in which Windows Live Hotmail has been built, implementing the new functionality was simple enough. In addition to Hotmail’s actual architecture, additional features that make it possible for other accounts to be used with the service’s email address are POP aggregation support and "Send As."
“We just needed to tweak the way we store and look up email addresses, build the first-run experience, and we had it,” Craddock added.
Still, it is critical to note that any account you might be using needs to support the POP protocol in order for this to function.
Customers interested in the new Sweep feature which allows them to easily clean their inbox, or support for sending 10 GB of photos in a single email, which rolled out with Windows Live Hotmail Wave 4 can give the service a try.
Chances are that the new EASI ID will not be available for some at this point in time. Microsoft is doing a gradual roll out, as it is the case with all Hotmail updates. But be patient, the new feature is coming.
“Hotmail will guide you through connecting to your old service and importing your existing email using POP, and then you can begin sending and receiving mail from Hotmail with your existing address,” Craddock added.
“As I mentioned earlier, we’re just starting to roll out this change today, so it may take a few days to reach all of our customers worldwide. When it does, please give it a try, and let me know how it’s working for you. “