Has Microsoft found its Design Mojo?
Microsoft rebooted Hotmail again this month, with its latest avatar being www.outlook.com. But this time its different. The UI is refreshing. No annoying and intrusive ads. The site is fast and responsive. And it works well in Chrome too, not just Internet Explorer. What is happening? Has Microsoft turned a new leaf?
The new Outlook has the new Windows 8 look, with the flat-tiles and big, readable fonts. The UI is minimalistic, but functional. It manages to get things done without getting in the way. Most settings are neatly tucked away, but there's a one-click way to change the color panels. This is very clever, since most users tend to go to settings to change themes anyway. Even the login page is vastly simplified. The whole experience comes together rather well with the new web-based Outlook. And oh, it now shows email messages as threads, which is my absolute must-have feature in any email client. The new Outlook almost makes Gmail look cluttered! I never thought I'd see this day.
The attention to detail is also amazing. When asking to verify my email address, instead of just showing a dumb captcha that might put people off, Outlook has a nice message:
Most junk comes from automated programs, which can't solve puzzles like this. (Sorry we have to ask you to prove you're a person.)"
Simple things like this go a long way in building an emotional connect with users.
Something is changing at Microsoft. Microsoft has managed to create a truly great mail program, even though it might be 5 years too late. The changes seem to be happening all across the company. In fact, Microsoft launched another product yesterday, that didn't get as much hype as Outlook, but nevertheless is worth mentioning is the "Wedge" keyboard and mouse. Just have a look at it:
Not only does the wedge keyboard look great, but it is highly functional as well. It doubles up as a case for your tablet, so you can carry your keyboard and tablet as one. Also, you can fold it in half and use it as a stand for your tablet, so you can use it like a desktop computer. Awesome.
The bigger point here is that Microsoft is slowly but successfully building up a unified user experience and UI across all its products. The Windows 8 look-and-feel will also be available on the XBox, on Microsoft Office and the whole Microsoft product line. This is a very difficult thing to pull off, and I must admit I was initially very skeptical Microsoft could be able to do it, but it looks like they are on their way.
It is difficult to underestimate how much value a unified product experience across devices will bring to Microsoft. If you are already familiar with a particular UI on your desktop, the learning curve on your new tablet will be much lower, and you'll feel more productive on the Microsoft tablet. Not only that, but you'll be more comfortable using the same apps across your desktop, laptop, tablet, phone and even Xbox/TV. After a point, you'll be compelled to buy Microsoft Windows powered devices because the rest of your stuff already works well with Windows Apps, and you don't want to be stuck with another OS and UX that you want to learn for just one device. And if that user experience is as awesome as Microsoft promises, I might just turn into a fanboy!
Surely, we're quite some distance away from this world, and Microsoft has yet to show us that it can be done, but this is a very promising start. And based on what we've seen so far of Windows 8, Microsoft's product strategy might just become a case study a couple of years from now!
