Hotmail usage spiking on iOS5 devices, says Microsoft

Hotmail, Microsoft's email service, may be getting a major boost from Apple's latest operating system for mobile devices iOS 5.

 

Windows Live corporate vice president Chris Jones said more than two million customers have connected Hotmail to iPhones and iPads since iOS 5 came out in October.

 

"Since the release of iOS 5, more than two million customers have connected Hotmail to iPhones or iPads, and we’re just getting started—almost 100,000 new iOS 5 devices are being set up with Hotmail every day," he said in a blog post.

 

Apple and Microsoft are rivals on the OS front, with Microsoft's Windows having the edge in the desktop market but with Apple's iOS holding the advantage in the mobile market.

 

Jones noted Microsoft last year added support for Exchange Active Sync, allowing customers around the world to sync their Hotmail inbox, calendar, and contacts to their mobile phones.

 

But he said the process of setting up Hotmail accounts on Apple mobile devices becomes even easier with the release of iOS 5.

 

A snapshot Jones posted on the blog showed about 64 percent of Hotmail connections are on iPhone 4 and higher.

 

But Jones also said Microsoft is also working on easier support as well for other platforms.

 

"Our work for Hotmail on smartphones doesn’t stop with iOS – we have great support for Windows Phone, Nokia, and BlackBerry – and with our new Android client, it’s now even easier to get started on Android," he added. — TJD, GMA News