IDG Contributor Network: What 30 million people already know about Microsoft Outlook on iOS and Android

I guess it takes me a little while to figure these things out.

Nine months ago, shortly after the CES trade show in Las Vegas, Microsoft made quite a splash by offering an iOS and Android version of the Outlook app for the first time. It seemed to have promise, since it was trimmed down, lean and mean, and obviously a new direction for the Redmond tech giant landing on Apple turf. (The phrase “when pigs fly” came to mind.)

Call me a curmudgeon (and some people do) but I had some misgivings about the app. For starters, it was a 1.0 release. That's never a good sign. I tend to use Gmail and Chrome on my iPhone, which is the best of both worlds (a bit of Android and a bit of Apple). The last time I really relied on Outlook for any real productivity work with email and scheduling, the Minnesota Vikings were a front-runner in the NFL and Cris Carter was on the field and not behind a microphone. (Maybe it is ironic timing that the Vikings are actually doing OK this season so far and haven’t imploded yet.)

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