Outlook iOS has been a long time coming. Given the inherent problems that Apple Mail has with Exchange, it couldn’t have come soon enough.

Outlook iOS isn’t perfect and it seems to have been a rushed release: however, all the nuts and bolts are in place and it’s a definite step in the right direction. Thanks to the purchase of Accompli, Microsoft was able to get this app to market very quickly. Polish can hopefully be added with further updates.

The app is only a 22MB download yet includes just about everything you need: a mail handler with integrated calendar and support for Exchange, Hotmail, Gmail and iCloud. You can do all the usual things with Outlook iOS – read e-mail, archive, delete and schedule – with a swipe. You can also flag, move to a folder and mark as read.

Visually, it isn’t dissimilar to Apple Mail. The main screen is a list of mail headers in chronological order. Tap the mail to read it. At the top, you will see ‘focused’ and ‘other’. Focused learns which e-mails you find most important and will automatically add them to the focused tab. Other will collect everything else. It’s a neat and useful trick for those of us who always seem to have bulging inboxes.

The calendar integration is ideal for power users as it can be accessed from within the app. It’s simple to check availability or schedule a meeting through mail into the calendar.

Just tap a spot on your calendar, include it in a mail and send it. Arranging meetings has never been easier.

For attachments, Outlook iOS is also integrated with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box. Unfortunately, there is currently no IMAP or POP support as yet.

This can mean a little reconfiguration for Hotmail and Gmail users but isn’t a showstopper.

Outlook iOS is a great mail app with a lot to offer. While it might not feel complete yet, it still has enough going for it to make it worth the download.

Jesmond Darmanin is a technology enthusiast who has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.

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