Easier setup came with update to iOS 5

Getting Microsoft's Hotmail service to work with Mail -- the default program for e-mail on the Mac -- and later with iOS devices -- has long been a popular subject in help forums and FAQs on the web. But now that it is one of several default choices on iOS 5, combined with incredibly strong sales of the current-model iPhones, Hotmail users are connecting their accounts to their iOS devices in large numbers, reports the Inside Windows Live blog.

Another factor undoubtedly playing a role in the increasing adoption of Hotmail among iOS users is the iPhone and iPad's rapid acceptance into enterprise, where employee Hotmail accounts are very common. The company estimates that the number of iOS-connected Hotmail accounts is growing by nearly 100,000 every day, and last year's support for Exchange Active Sync would have made it much easier for Hotmail syncing.

Add to that the rapid adoption of iOS 5, which included even easier setup of Hotmail on IOS devices. MS reports that 64 percent of Hotmail-using iOS owners are using an iPhone 4 or 4S (with the latter jumping to 24 percent just three weeks after its debut), with about four percent working with a Verizon iPhone 4 and 12 percent using an iPhone 3GS, for a combined total of 80 percent iPhone users. The iPad and iPod Touch markets make up the remaining 20 percent.

Microsoft has also recently updated its official Android client, but did not release usage figures for the platform. Hotmail clients are also available for Nokia and Blackberry as well Windows Phone. [via Inside Windows Live]

by MacNN Staff