Microsoft released a new app for iOS and Android yesterday to help you manage your inbox. Outlook, the massively popular email client for the desktop, now has an official home on Android and iOS.
Apple appears to like the app, as they have featured it on the landing page under "Best New Apps" which has helped the app climb the charts in the store. Currently, the app is sitting in the 15th position in the "Top Free" chart and has been climbing rapidly over the past 12 hours or so.
The app appears to be resonating well with consumers as well, with over 1200 reviews, the email app has a four-star rating at this time.
As for the Google Play store? Taking a look at those charts, Outlook is not anywhere to be found even though it has over 2,500 reviews with an overall four-star rating.
This is not the first time Microsoft"s apps have done well in Apple"s App Store; when its Office apps were released last year, they quickly jumped to the top of the charts. The email app is a harder sell to consumers than, say, Word or Excel as iOS already has an email application out of the box. So, for Microsoft to "win" in this area, they have to prove that their app is better than the built-in solution. Based on how quickly it is climbing the charts, it appears that consumers are looking for alternatives to the mail app - and the free Outlook app is providing strong competition.
Being free does help, and considering Microsoft does not make any money from this app - in fact it cost them considerably as they bought Acompli who made the app which was rebranded as Outlook - it"s important that they grab market share with the app to justify the acquisition. Even if they are not making any cash from this app, it asserts that consumers are using Microsoft software on every platform and with Office being a pivotal part of Microsoft"s revenue streams, keeping the Outlook brand relevant in consumers minds may prove to be worth the price of Acompli.