Hotmail Reaches 5 Million Android Downloads

Sites include Android.com , Hotmail.com . Published on March 9th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

Google is a thief—a thief of Microsoft Hotmail users that is. Microsoft announced recently that its Hotmail App for Android has now been downloaded more than 5 million times—in just five months.

The announcement is one of those things that will make analysts scratch their heads in bemusement because it’s obvious that even Hotmail users prefer Google’s own platform. We mustn’t forget in all this that Microsoft has its own mobile platform running on several phones in the marketplace. This latest milestone perhaps is good for the App, but terrible for Microsoft’s mobile platform.

The news also conjured images of Windows Phone users sneakily downloading Gmail onto their phones and bypassing Hotmail all together. It’s unlikely though that Microsoft will release such numbers if they do exist (and I think they do).

Google I am sure will be happy about the announcement; at the very least it shows the power of the Android platform and its potential impact to overtake Apple as the number one platform that powers mobile devices—of all types. Microsoft on the other hand will need to find ways to make Windows Phone a bit snazzier, something that people can feel hip and proud to own.

Do you use Hotmail on an Android device? Let us know below.