Is Outlook 2013 RT going to be a Windows Store app or a desktop app?

On Wednesday, Microsoft confirmed that it would indeed launch an Outlook 2013 RT client later this year, as part of the free Windows RT 8.1 upgrade. However, Microsoft's Office blog post on the subject was vague on whether or not the client would be a desktop app or a Modern UI app made to be released in the Windows Store.

The blog post simply said Outlook 2013 RT would have " ... a great touch experience for people using tablets." However, almost all of the Office 2013 apps that are included with Windows RT tablets work on the desktop UI, but with touchscreen enhanced designs. OneNote and Lync are the exceptions as Microsoft has also released free Modern UI versions of those apps.

So will Outlook 2013 RT run in the desktop or will it have a Modern interface and be made available from the Windows Store? Microsoft's official Surface Twitter account, in responding to a question from another Twitter user, suggests strongly that Outlook 2013 RT will indeed be a Modern app.

That sounds pretty official, right? Not so fast. Paul Thurrott of Winsupersite.com claims:

It’s also worth noting that, just like those applications, Outlook 2013 RT is a desktop application and not a Metro-style app. And, yes, it looks and works just like the Outlook version found today in x86 versions of Office 2013.

So which version is it? It's possible that whomever is running the official Surface Twitter page has posted incorrect information. In any case, Microsoft is doing itself no favors by not confirming if Outlook 2013 RT is a Modern or desktop app. We have gone ahead and emailed Microsoft to request confirmation for their statement.

Thanks to brent3000 for the tip!

Source: Surface on Twitter