The first people who migrated to Microsoft’s new Outlook.com cloud-based email service one year ago are being rewarded with 3GB of extra SkyDrive storage and free Skype group video.
Users who took the plunge during the first weeks the service was offered have been receiving emails notifying them of the offer.
It would appear that the offer is only being extended to those who fully migrated to Outlook.com, i.e. not those who kept a live.com or hotmail.com address.
The ‘thank you’ gifts are also time limited.
The additional SkyDrive storage will last for one year before users will either have to downsize or start paying a subscription, which starts at £6 per year for 27GB.
The Skype group calling functionality normally available only to Skype Premium customers, is available for one month, after which users will have to sign up to the £3.44 monthly subscription if they wish to keep the service.
The news comes shortly after the company announced via Twitter it was offering former MobileMe users 15GB of additional SkyDrive storage (i.e. 22GB total) after Apple announced it was reducing the free iCloud storage it had been offering on 30 September.
Outlook.com was launched on 31 July 2012 and graduated to the preview stage on 18 February 2013 before being fully rolled out as the replacement to the company’s long-standing Hotmail service, which was founded in 1996 and bought by Microsoft the following year for $400 million.
The updated service was not well received by all, however, and many consumers complained it was unwieldy and difficult to navigate – so much so that our sister site IT Pro pulled together a tutorial to help Hotmail natives get to grips with the trickier aspects of Outlook.com.
Cloud Pro was awaiting comment from Microsoft at the time of publication.
