First the Start button and now this. Microsoft will release a version of Outlook for Windows RT, giving users of its Surface RT and other ARM-based Windows machines an alternative to the company’s minimalist (and much-maligned) built-in mail program.
Outlook’s absence has beeen one of the biggest complaints about Windows RT. It could help Microsoft make a stronger pitch for the Surface and other Windows RT tablets in a market dominated by the iPad. Microsoft already offers Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for Windows RT machines but doesn’t make the Office suite for Apple’s tablet.
Outlook will be available on Windows RT as part of the free Windows 8.1 update, coming out later this year. Microsoft says this version of the email program, dubbed Outlook 2013 RT, has been optimized for touch devices and given a “streamlined” user experience. A Microsoft representative says it’s a Windows desktop app similar to the existing Office programs for Windows RT (not a “Modern” app).
Microsoft’s expansion of Windows to power-efficient and mobile friendly ARM processors was designed to help Windows tablets compete more directly with the iPad, but the results so far have been decidedly less than spectacular. Earlier this week, Acer Chairman J.T. Wang told the Wall Street Journal that he sees Windows RT as not very influential. Acer hasn’t decided whether to make an RT device. HTC reportedly has canceled plans to make a Windows RT tablet of its own.
Nvidia CEO Jen Hsun Huang told PC World in March that he was disappointed in the reception for Windows RT, and made a specific plea related to the Microsoft email program.”If Outlook were to show up on RT, my life would be complete,” he said, according to the site.
Meanwhile, full-fledged Windows 8 is making its debut on an 8-inch tablet from Acer, running on Intel chips. That allows the tablet to run traditional Windows programs natively, unlike Windows RT devices. Microsoft also offers its own higher-powered Surface Pro tablet, which runs on Windows 8 but starts at $899. Surface RT starts at $499.
Microsoft Windows marketing and finance chief Tami Reller said in an interview last month that the company has no plans to abandon its support for ARM-based devices. “We are very committed to the ARM platform,” she said. “We certainly know that’s a question in the marketplace. We want to leave no doubt about our commitment to ARM.”
The company says it will release a public preview of Windows 8.1 on June 26.
