Every time I stick a frozen entrée in the microwave I know that, sure, there are more rewarding ways to make dinner. But this way is convenient, quick and often all I’ve got. Email on a mobile device is like that. While built-in apps have gotten better, we all know that we’re not getting the full desktop email experience, with tight integration with calendars, and features like delivery and read receipts. Like my nuked dinners, these apps get the job done, but not in a way that leaves anyone dazzled.
With its new Outlook app (free for iOS and Android), Microsoft Corp. attempts to satisfy our hunger for richer, more satisfying mobile email. And even with the app’s quirks and omissions, and there are several, it comes close to pulling off that feat, close enough that I don’t plan on going back to Apple’s Mail app on my iOS devices anytime soon. Like that app, Outlook works with most major email services, including Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail and Google Gmail. This is a piece of software that understands that busy mobile professionals don’t want to have to switch between mail and calendar apps, or hunt for key files to add as attachments. They want everything, literally, at their fingertips.
