Microsoft today issued a major update to its Outlook.com app for Android, adding support for Outlook.com aliases, server-side search, color themes, vacation replies and more. The app continues to inject a nice bit of Windows Phone UI on the otherwise dour Android platform.
"Our goal is to provide our customers with the best possible email experience, delivering the features that you've been requesting," Steve Kafka writes in a new post to the Outlook Blog. "We've listened hard to the feedback from you and made several improvements that you asked for."
What are those new features, you ask?
Alias support. This is the big one, in my opinion: The Outlook.com app now supports aliases, so you can send mail from any aliases. This feature debuted first in the Outlook.com web interface and is available in the Windows 8.1 Mail app too.
Server-side search. The app now lets you search through all of your email on Outlook.com, even those that are not on the phone, using server-side search. Just tap the "Search more in Outlook.com" link when you search.
Download all mail. In previous versions of the app, you had to multi-select messages to download them, which is tedious if not pointless if you wish to download all of the mail in a folder to the phone. Now the app provides an Unlimited option in Download settings (in addition to 1 day, 3 days, and other options).
Vacation replies. You can now manage vacation replies directly from within the Outlook.com mobile app.
New color themes. Previously, you were limited to the Outlook.com blue color, but you can now choose from 11 colors and personalize the app as you wish.
But wait, there's more. Changes, that is. I just don't know what they are. :) But Microsoft says it has made over 150 improvements to the app in this update.
In an interesting revelation, Kafka also noted that fully 68 percent of customers are now accessing Outlook.com from mobile devices (as opposed to traditional PC applications or the web). So making the experience first rate on these devices is obviously a priority. I think the improvements we see here do speak to that.
