Update For Windows Live Hotmail

Microsoft has given its Windows Live Hotmail a makeover, and added a few new features to make life easier for users.

If you logged into Hotmail yesterday, you’ll have first seen a screen announcing a new look for the service. As Microsoft said in its blurb:

“No big changes – more like a repainted room than a remodeled house. We’ve just made a few improvements to Hotmail based on feedback from customers like you.”

The look is indeed slightly different, and there is a choice of themes for those who want them, but there are a few other things that users will find more useful.

Contact Picker, for instance, simplifies looking up contacts when writing a mail, and there’s also a predictive text feature in addresses, much like Google’s Gmail.

A reading pane allows users to preview messages either to the right side or bottom of the inbox, a feature reminiscent of Outlook.

Microsoft claims the new service will offer 70% faster access to their mail, and new features set for the coming months will include greater storage and the ability to send instant messages from the inbox.