Send is Microsoft's new hybrid e-mail / chat app for quick, informal conversations

[Shawn Knight]

Microsoft accidentally let slip back in May that it was developing a hybrid e-mail / chat app dubbed Flow. Today, the Outlook team officially launched the app albeit under a different name.

The Redmond-based company says Send was built specifically for brief, snappy communications. Microsoft concedes that tools like text messaging and instant messaging are great for short messages but in reality, users often don’t have their co-workers’ mobile phone numbers or an IM client installed on their handset.

Furthermore, Microsoft said users have made it clear that they want all of their communications available in Outlook – even if they are sent from other apps. With Send, that’s exactly what you get.

The app provides a text message-like experience for quick-hit conversations over e-mail. Its informal nature allows you to get right to the point without having to fool with subject lines, salutations and signatures. Correspondence is saved in Outlook so you’ll have the chat log on hand for reference at a later date.

It’s worth pointing out that Send doesn’t show all of your e-mails, just the ones started in the app, to further help reduce clutter and distractions.

Send comes to us courtesy of Microsoft Garage, the company’s once-secret internal incubator of ideas that was founded in 2009. Microsoft only opened Garage to the public late last year.

The new app is available as of writing for iOS users in the US and Canada via the App Store and will be available soon for Android and Windows Phone. It works for those using Office 365 business and school e-mail accounts although Microsoft said it expects to make the app more broadly available in the coming months.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/61477-send-microsoft-new-hybrid-e-mail-chat-app.html

 

[psycros]

The continued attempts by companies to subvert common words, particularly verbs, is sickening and should be outlawed. I can just see Microsoft's greasy marketing schlubs desperately praying for people to start Send(tm)ing messages to each other in the same pitiful way they wanted "Binging" to become a thing. All companies need to do is make good products that improve on what came before, preferably with distinctive and descriptive names. How about going with Outlook Messenger?? EVERYONE would have understood what that meant and probably used it extensively. Integration with Outlook and/or Thunderbird has been the holy grail that only a handful of IMs have tried to implement, and even then with little success. Why *wouldn't* Microsoft want to capitalize on the interoperability with their branding? Seriously, Microsoft - you want to be the kingpin again? Make these six changes by year's end:

* LIVE TILES ON WINDOWS 10 DESKTOP. Stop trying to make the start screen happen - its not going to happen. Let us stick them on a secondary toolbar on the side of the screen, I.e. a new gen sidebar.
* "Outlook Messenger" as a recommended update and it has a very configurable live tile.
* Restore the search function from Windows XP. It was better in every way.
* Add two-pane functionality to Windows Explorer. There's literally no excuse for not doing this. You can even make it semi-hidden "power user" option if you're that terrified of scaring the typical po' wittle end users.
* ADD REAL SOFTWARE TO YOUR APP STORE. Every version of Linux has had this for nearly a decade. Don't be greedy with your cut, either, Microsoft - give devs every reason to want their catalogs to be a default part of the Windows experience.
* A more flexible ribbon: let us put the ribbon on the side rather than having it take up a huge amount of vertical workspace. Everyone has wide monitors now - THIS is the time for a transition to sidebar-based controls. Even better, provide support for drop-down menus in Explorer again! For most of us they were more efficient, more ergonomic and generally easier to deal with.

Do these things and Windows 10 adoption rates will double by the end of Q1'16.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Great now we can correctly say "Send with Send". *rollseye*

 

[DelJo63]

@psycros "Everyone has wide monitors now" LOL. As even TS has found, supporting mobile devices is a not-trivial effort, due to screen sizes, layouts, non-dropdown menus and more spacing for finger-touch space. Vertical menus are taboo. Sites with fixed-width presentations are very difficult to use for mobile users.

 

[Sam N]

Send does look good and really useful. There just seem to be so many services out there now - a fragmentation of communications if you will. Surely it would be better if we could all just one app and use it for everything regardless of what the app recipient is using? Because that is essentially the problem and it just means we have to use up lots of different serviecs to communicate daily. I know matrix.org are currently trying to solve this.