Just the four listed factors...
This isn't a comparison with Gmail, but what is considered 'better' that Outlook.com offers:
1- Automatic folders: "The system attempts to smartly sort some of your mail for you by automatically creating virtual folders for common stuff like email newsletters, Facebook and Twitter alerts, and other repetitive messages...." Sorry, I make my own decisions. I do NOT want any program to 'attempt to smartly sort' for me. Are you saying I'm not smart enough to think for myself? I hope that 'feature' can be turned off. The 'hover' menu, if it really can be customized would be ok, but the current right-click menu in Hotmail has far more function.
2- Mobile experience: I run my work e-mail and two Hotmail accounts only on my Blackberry. And again, this: "Microsoft used the automatic folder feature as its way of helping organize and prioritize users inboxes in a way that can work in virtually any type of desktop or mobile email client." One size fits all doesn't always. I don't want the automatic folder feature on my desktop/laptop .. why would I on a mobile device?
3- Privacy protection: promoting something based on the perception of end user ignorance/fear of how a competitive client works might work for some, but certainly not all. Does it mean no ads? Of course not. And the caveat? "...Im sure these ads are going to be targeted based on what Microsoft knows about you in general, just not on the content of your individual messages." So it's scanning all the 'social networking' information it has on you, right? So that's not as specific, and possibly more so, than Gmail targeting?? Targeting is targeting .. period.
4- Social integration: this is rather comical to one who doesn't 'social' network. Especially: "...contact information about the person youre emailing." "...LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook ... and will even show you the LinkedIn job title and latest status updates from the contact youre emailing." You mean you don't know this already? About all you should be missing about the person is the Tweet and/or Facebook wall posting letting you know what they had for lunch. And is all this really necessary in a mail client being used for business?
An additional note: somebody mentioned not being able to group messages. You can. Last night when Microsoft, certainly without my knowledge or consent, converted my Hotmail to the Outlook.com format (in the middle of my work), all the messages came up grouped. A 'from' name with a number next to it that was the total number of messages from that person/company. So if that's what you meant, it's there.
I'll be keeping my Hotmail, thank you.
