Overall Rating ****
I think that Microsoft Outlook is a very useful and well designed piece of software. It is simple and easy to use and provides more functionality that its competitors. The out of office features allow for customizable automated responses, even when you are unable to log onto your e-mail.
Design ****
Outlook is a very corporate looking piece of software, and well that’s because it is, its the most commonly used e-mail client in offices and large businesses. This is not necessarily a bad thing, although it isn’t the prettiest thing to look at, everything you need is clear to see and easy to use. To attach documents to e-mails, set priority, reply create messages, all of the things that you would need to do are right there in the toolbar without having to search through menus and multiple toolbars. This saves time and frustration when it comes to E-mailing, and lets face it replying to hundreds of e-mails each day is frustrating enough on its own!
Features *****
Outlook is packed full of features to help you sort your life out and get things done. It has an address book to store all of your e-mail contacts as well as their addresses, contact numbers and even a business card! As well as this, Outlook has a calendar feature that you can add events, birthdays and meetings to, the program will then remind you of your appointment with an alarm and it also syncs with your mobile device so that you can add new events out of the office.
Cost ***
Outlook is not free… Boooo! it has to be purchased with a copy of Microsoft office, unlike other e-mail clients such as google mail, yahoo etc. However in the package you do also get Word, Excel, Powerpoint and some other goodies so its not all that bad.
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