Prediction: Microsoft Acquires Mailbird

We’ve entered the e-mail client twilight zone!

…WTF just happened?

Outlook has just been unseated on my laptop (by Mailbird), but now I’m using Outlook instead of Apple or Google on my iPhone?!?

Some background:

On a monthly basis, I try to find new ways to optimize my ‘inner loop’: processes that I perform many times per day.  Computer science teaches us that saving a few minutes multiple times per day, or a few seconds multiple times per hour, adds up to a ridiculously large amount of time that we’d rather not even think about.

E-mail’s a biggie. I manage all of my tasks through email, and spend many hours per week on email.

I’ve been an outlook junkie since high school.

I’ve always had the need for multiple e-mail accounts, integrated calendar, offline access, delayed send, drag and drop, etc. – hence I’ve never embraced browser-based email.

Over the last few years, Outlook on Windows has ground to a halt.

Bad Outlook. Bad.

A combination of feature bloat and bad architecture. With multiple gmail-based accounts, any slight hiccup means Outlook freezes for at least 30 seconds. Unusable! I found myself doing all email organization on my iPhone, and only composing on desktop.

I spent an hour trying different e-mail clients and landed on Mailbird for desktop. Amazing. Super-fast and responsive, lightweight, sleek.

Bye, bye, Outlook! …wait…

Ironically, at the same time – I did the reverse switch on my iPhone.  I switched from Apple’s mail app and Google’s Gmail app to Outlook for iPhone. It’s awesome!

Much better UI. Better search. Seamless multi-account. Delayed delivery. Great cloud-file access. Beats Apple Mail and Gmail any day.

…and since when did Microsoft become the wittiest and most social of the three?!?!

Apple Inbox Zero UI

Inbox Zero UI on Google (Slightly better)

One of many Inbox Zero UIs on Microsoft Outlook for iPhone Oh Outlook, you’re so witty now! Another doozie.

With all due respect, Outlook Mobile was an acquisition (not internally developed).

My prediction? Within 12 months, Microsoft acquires Mailbird and replaces Outlook Express with it.

Second only to DirectX, that would be the most compelling reason to upgrade to Windows 11.