Outlook.com expands preview, begins partner add-in rollout

Microsoft began rolling out a preview of a new-look Outlook.com earlier this year, complete with a refined inbox, a better calendar, and support for partner add-ins.  Now, with the preview expanding to more users, the company is beginning to roll out the first of those add-ins.  In a post on the Outlook.com blog, Microsoft announced new partnerships with Evernote, Yelp, IFTTT, and Wunderlist (a company Microsoft recently acquired), to “deliver solutions for both consumer and commercial Outlook users”.

In the blog post, Microsoft details new add-ins from a number of companies:

• Uber: set up an Uber ride reminder for any calendar event with a single tap
• Paypal: pay your dinner tab or send money to your loved ones on their birthday with this add-in
• Evernote: send a note via email using the add-in view, or clip emails from Outlook to Evernote
• ​Boomerang: schedule your emails to be sent “at the perfect time”
• IFTTT: If This Then That is already available in Office 365, and it’s coming soon to Outlook.com
• Yelp: coming soon to Outlook.com
• Wonderlist: coming soon

The add-ins, which showcase Microsoft’s efforts to merge Outlook and Outlook.com into a single development model, will be available not only for Outlook.com but for Outlook, Office 365, and Exchange users, according to a FAQ in the blog post:

Starting today, the Uber, PayPal, Evernote and Boomerang add-ins are available in Outlook 2013 and Outlook on the web for users with Office 365 mailboxes. The Uber, PayPal and Evernote add-ins also work for users with Exchange 2013 mailboxes. These add-ins will be available to users of the new Outlook.com within a month.

If you’re interested in building add-ins or using the Outlook REST APIs, you can learn more at dev.outlook.com.