Outlook.Com Gets IMAP Support

Microsoft has now brought Outlook.com on par with its big rivals, and it works to make the service attractive to the app devs and the Web service providers. Microsoft has now added Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) with OAuth 2.0 support in the Outlook.com service. This was reported by Microsoft during a September 12 Reddit AMA (ask me anything) session with the team that is responsible for the successor to the popular Hotmail service. This update not only fills one of the service’s most glaring omissions but it also delivers on one of the much sought after features by the users who wanted an alternative to POP (Post Office Protocol) and EAS (Exchange Active Sync).

This move has also made it much easier for the mobile app developers to integrate better with the Outlook.com service. Outlook.com emerged from its limited preview period and it was opened to all the users on Feb 18. In its trial run, it attracted about 60 million users. In the month of May, Microsoft completed the Hotmail-Outlook transition that followed a six-week undertaking, which involved migrating 150 petabytes of email messages. This resulted in 400 million active Outlook.com accounts. On 19 August, Microsoft had extended the service in some of the regions by enabling Skype video calling. This feature will enable the users to participate in video calls with members of the massive user base (300 million) of Skype.

In spite of the new features and enhancements, Outlook.com still lacks a major connectivity option that their rivals have been supporting for long. In response to one of the Reddit user who noted that the rivals like Yahoo and Gmail included IMAP support, Steve Kafka, who is the principal program manager lead of the Outlook.com protocols revealed the news. He hinted that his team was constantly fielding questions about IMAP, he said, "I’m excited to announce that starting right now we DO support IMAP, and we wanted you folks to be the first to know. Go check it out."

In one of the Outlook blog posts, Kafka maintained that EAS is a much superior protocol that offers syncing in near real-time, networks efficiency, and superior battery. Not all the mobile device manufacturers and app developers have been asked to pursue the protocol of Microsoft. If you wish to know more on the Outlook email setup steps to get IMAP support for Outlook.com, you can contact the Outlook help and support team. They will be able to tell you more on the Outlook email setup steps.
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