Microsoft adding new features to Hotmail over 'the coming weeks,' releases an Android app

When we heard Microsoft was holding a press event called "Give Hotmail a Second Look," we wondered if a full-on redesign was in store. The answer happens to be a resounding "no," but the software giant is rolling out a raft of new features to its 365 million-some-odd users. This includes an Android app with two-way email, contact and calendar syncing (!), along with a slew of updates to Hotmail's web interface. First up, you can now automatically categorize incoming mail as newsletters, and then either trash 'em or sweep them to a folder. Additionally, an "Unsubscribe" feature lets you do just that, with Hotmail handling the dirty work of blocking future newsletters from that sender, as well as asking the company to kindly stop spamming you. Moving along, flagged messages will now sit at the top of the inbox so that they don't get lost in the morass of incoming mail. If you like, you can program Hotmail to automatically flag messages with a particular subject line, from a certain sender, et cetera. Meanwhile, "Scheduled Cleanup" automatically deletes messages after a certain number of days have passed -- a good way to cut through that pile of unused Groupon alerts. Other updates include the ability to manage and edit folders and apply categories to individual emails -- all inline. And, last but not least, you'll now see so-called Instant Actions (e.g., "delete," "flag") when you hover over messages. We've got a few screenshots below, and you can also hit the source link for some extra details, straight from the horse's mouth.