Windows 8.1 will bring Outlook 2013 to RT tablets

5 Jun 2013

A pre-release preview of the Windows 8.1 start screen

Tami Reller, CFO and CMO of Microsoft’s Windows Division, announced at the Computex computer expo in Taiwan that Windows RT tablets will come equipped with Outlook 2013 RT following the Windows 8.1 update.

The 2013 edition of Outlook sports a cleaner design and improved tools for managing your inbox, and will soon be available on Microsoft’s Surface RT and other Windows RT devices.

According to Morgan Stanley research cited by Microsoft, 61pc of people shopping for tablets consider Microsoft Office to be the single most important software required. Previously, Microsoft’s email management software Outlook was not available to Windows RT users, but it now joins the suite of Office 2013 RT applications, which already includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Windows 8.1 will be revealed in full at the Build developers conference later this month, and the free update will roll out later this year.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com