There have long been Microsoft Outlook apps for mobile devices. They have always been hokey, glorified web-apps. That has changed with the release of the official Outlook app from Microsoft. I should say the acquisition of an official app. We will get into that more in a moment.
Lotus testing on an Android device is pending. We have had plenty of experience with the iOS application on the iPhone and iPad.
The application is geared towards efficiency and speed. Email is sorted in “Focus” and “Other” categories. The “Focus” category is supposed to display what is believed to be more important email. Over time the app will improve it selection of focused emails based on your behavior. We suspect that we haven’t used the app long enough for it to “learn”.
If you have the usual Outlook options in small buttons on the top of the email list as well in an open email. You can delete an email or move it to a folder as well as forward, reply, etc. One key feature missing from the desktop Outlook application is the Quick Steps email automation.
One really useful feature is the swipe ability. This is nothing new in the default iOS mail app, but one really handy feature is the ability to schedule an email for later. Let me explain. You swipe the email to schedule and you get a drop down with options such as schedule for a few hours or this evening or tomorrow morning. The context changes depending on the time of the day. What the app does is create a folder in your mailbox called Scheduled and move the email there. A great benefit is that the email also moves on Exchange connected applications such as desktop Outlook. At the specified time the email is then moved back to your inbox.
You can change how the swipe works in the settings. Of course you can also set different signatures based on your different accounts. The app works with Gmail, Exchange, Yahoo Mail, and others.
If your an inbox zero type of person you will enjoy the words of encouragement you receive every time your inbox is empty.
Calendar
Just like the desktop Outlook application your calendar is included. The greatest benefit of this is more integration between your calendar and your email. You can request reschedule of appointments directly in the calendar.
People
Contacts are listed by most contacted or you can search for a contact. You can also search contacts by name, company, etc. Clicking on a contact gives a history of emails, meetings, and files as well as upcoming meetings.
Files
You can link several file cloud services to the app including:
- OneDrive
- Dropbox
- Box
- Google Drive
You can also access a list of recent attachments that were sent to you. Any of these files can be attached to an email.
We are surprised there is not a connection offered to SharePoint.
Impressions
The default mail app in the iOS platform has come a long way and vastly improved in the last upgrade. The new Outlook app from Microsoft really has some good features that make email management much more efficient. Many of us operate in triage mode when it comes to email. There are items that need immediate attention and most that can wait until later. The schedule feature allows you to remove the clutter that needs to be scanned over and over again throughout the day. We are anxious to see how the focus feature does in learning about which emails are important.
Based on early impressions we will likely use the Outlook app more frequently than the default mail app. Of course both can be utilized to benefits from the best of each app.
Microsoft actually purchased a startup called Acompli which had gotten started about one year ago. Microsoft has been continuing to expand their footprint into the mobile space occupied by iOS and Android through release of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint those platforms last year. It makes sense for them to add this last missing element to extend Office to mobile devices. They made a good choice in purchasing Acompli which has accelerated their presence.