New Microsoft Send app brings chat-like threads to iPhone email conversations
Microsoft on Tuesday launched Send, a new iPhone app intended to simplify email conversations down to instant-messaging style threads.
Only conversations started in Send are displayed there, and each thread ditches standard email tropes -- such as subject lines and signatures -- in favor of showing only names, contact photos, and timestamps. Users can reach anyone with an email address.
Swiping right on a conversation brings up canned quick-reply options, including the ability to create custom ones.
Because there's no proprietary network involved, conversations can continue later in a separate email client. Send itself, however, requires signing in with an Office 365 account.
The app's existence was first leaked in May, when Microsoft accidentally published a webpage for it. At the time the app was known as "Flow by Outlook," but the company appears to have abandoned any specific Outlook branding.
Only conversations started in Send are displayed there, and each thread ditches standard email tropes -- such as subject lines and signatures -- in favor of showing only names, contact photos, and timestamps. Users can reach anyone with an email address.
Swiping right on a conversation brings up canned quick-reply options, including the ability to create custom ones.
Because there's no proprietary network involved, conversations can continue later in a separate email client. Send itself, however, requires signing in with an Office 365 account.
The app's existence was first leaked in May, when Microsoft accidentally published a webpage for it. At the time the app was known as "Flow by Outlook," but the company appears to have abandoned any specific Outlook branding.
Comments
That UI...
What has been seen cannot be unseen.
^ Compared to a lot of Microsoft products, that UI is pretty alright; nice and clean and clear. A bit too much wasted space for my liking, but maybe that isn't so apparent when you're using it. It's certainly more attractive than Apple's dullsville Messages app.
Another "new" idea from the company known for thinking inside the box.
It actually seems like a new idea. I will try it out.
^ It's pretty much the same idea as the (now defunct) ShortMail. http://www.technologyreview.com/view/426920/shortmail-shows-how-simpler-e-mail-is-better/
I read somewhere that Microsoft had over 60 apps on the App Store. I wonder if that is true...
Read the article. Last I checked iMessage has nothing to do with email. This app is an email client alternative. As such it doesn't matter what others are using.
Seems silly.
1. Why do I want e-mails to behave like messages? If that's how I or the sender wanted it to be read, we'd have sent a message/text to begin with.
2. If "Only conversations started in Send are displayed there", what good is it? Maybe the e-mail chain started in a conventional mail program like outlook. So, now you have to check Mail and Send to keep up.
3. If you send an e-mail from Send to a group and one or more of them does not have Office365, then it shows up in their e-mail account. Where do replies go? Refer to point #2.
^ Compared to a lot of Microsoft products, that UI is pretty alright; nice and clean and clear. A bit too much wasted space for my liking, but maybe that isn't so apparent when you're using it. It's certainly more attractive than Apple's dullsville Messages app.
Apple's iMessage is clean and allows you to easily do what the app needs to do. This looks like it was designed by a third grader with a new box of pastel crayons. What's with all the superfluous colors and shapes. Pretty juvenile looking.
^ How does this app not easily let you do what you need to do? There is nothing unclean about pastel colours, and from what I can tell, the "superfluous" colours and shapes are filling otherwise dead space.
For a truly unclean, unclear UI with superfluous colours and shapes...
The UI seems like a total riff on Slack's colors and scheme.
Way to be original, Microsoft.