Microsoft Tests Hotmail Subscriptions

Microsoft is testing a new subscription Hotmail service. Called Microsoft Office Outlook Live, the service includes 2GB of e-mail storage and a copy of Outlook 2003 for desktop access.

The "premium subscription" service is being tested in the United States by a small group of beta users, a Microsoft spokesperson says. Other than e-mail, the service also includes the MSN Calendar and MSN Address Book, which are also accessible with the Outlook 2003 client, she says.

Microsoft Office Outlook Live appears to be an extension of Microsoft's current MSN Premium. This $10-a-month service includes the Outlook Connector, a tool that lets users access their MSN services from within Outlook (version 2002 or newer). However, MSN Premium does not include a copy of the Outlook client.

Targeted at Smaller Businesses

Microsoft executives have been discussing an expanded hosted e-mail service separate from MSN Premium for several months. The service would be targeted especially at businesses that don't run their own e-mail server. MSN Corporate Vice President Yusuf Mehdi alluded to the service in May, while speaking at an event for investors.

"Advanced e-mail and small business services, these are another big set of things that we're investing in," Mehdi said, according to a transcript of the event. "There's a lot of demand for people who use Outlook as an e-mail client who don't have an Exchange Server."

Microsoft hopes to offer a final version of Microsoft Office Outlook Live with unspecified additional features in the first half of 2005, the spokesperson says.