Difference between Hotmail.com, Msn.com, Live.com & Outlook.com?

Are you bewildered having to choose from Hotmail.com, Msn.com, Live.com & Outlook.com? Wondering how they are different?  Have you tried reaching www.hotmail.com? If you did, you would be redirected to Outlook sign-in page. The reason being Hotmail was rebranded to Outlook.

You know what’s common among all of these, they are more or less the same webmail service. Ever since Hotmail’s acquiring, Microsoft has been renaming the service time and time again, confusing its users in the process.

The Journey from Hotmail to Outlook

What is HOTMAIL.com?

Hotmail was founded and launched in 1996. Hotmail was created and designed via HTML (HyperText Markup Language) hence, was originally typed cased as Hotmail (the capital letters have to be kept in mind). It allowed users to access their inboxes from anywhere and freed the users from ISP-based email. It attained popularity within just a year of its launch.

Why is it called MSN HOTMAIL?

Microsoft acquired Hotmail in 1997, then merged it into Microsoft’s internet services, known as MSN. Hotmail was rebranded to MSN Hotmail, though it was still popularly known as Hotmail itself. It later was linked with a Microsoft account (formerly known as Microsoft Passport), then merged it with other services like MSN messenger and MSN spaces.

WINDOWS LIVE HOTMAIL

In 2005-2006, Microsoft announced, you guessed it right, yet another new brand name for many of the MSN services, i.e., Windows Live. Microsoft initially planned to rename it to Windows Live Mail, however, the beta testers preferred the well-known name Hotmail. As a result of this, MSN Hotmail was then transformed into Windows Live Hotmail. This service focused on speed improvisation, increasing the storage space, better user experience along usability features. Hotmail was then “re-invented”, added new features such as Categories, Instant Actions, scheduled Sweep along a lot more.

From then, the MSN brand shifted its primary focus to online content like news, weather, sports, and entertainment, which was made available through its web portal, Windows Live covered Microsoft’s online services. Users who hadn’t updated to this new service were still able to access the MSN Hotmail interface.

The new OUTLOOK

In 2012, the Windows Live brand got discontinued. Few services got rebranded independently while others were integrated into the Windows OS as apps/services. Though renamed a few times, it was still known as Hotmail but after the discontinuation of Windows Live, Hotmail finally turned into Outlook. Outlook being the name by which Microsoft webmail is service is known now.

Currently, outlook.com is the official webmail service that you can use for any of your Microsoft email addresses, be it outlook.com email or the earlier used Hotmail.com, msn.com, or live.com. Though You can still access your older email accounts new accounts can only be made as outlook.com accounts.

Outlook Mail and Outlook are different, we will first talk about two completely different things: Web email client (or web app) and Desktop email client. If you liked this article, leave a comment below or share it with friends, so they can also know the difference between Hotmail.com, Msn.com, Live.com & Outlook.com.