In case this particular app has passed you by, Send is Microsoft’s attempt at simplifying email. The software, which works with Outlook and Office 365 business/school mail accounts, is designed to make email exchanges feel more like a fast, messaging-like back-and-forth. The company pitches it as ideal for “brief, snappy communications” for when you want to send a short or urgent message without having to deal with traditional email constructs.
Rolled out to users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K, Brazil, and Denmark for devices running Android 4.2 and later, the app that “feels like texting and works like email” is currently in beta, so be patient, there may be a few hiccups at the start.
Although Send feels like a messaging app, it allows you to select recipients from your email contacts, while threads are saved in Outlook should you need to reference them later.
If you started a conversation in Send, you can continue it in Outlook, though Send won’t show all your emails – only those started in the app.
To begin a conversation, select a contact, tap out your message, and hit send. To speed things up even more, you can select a standard Quick Reply such as “On my way” or “I’ll get back to you.”
And as with other messaging apps, if the recipient is also using Send, you’ll see when they’re tapping out a reply.
Announcing the Android version in a blog post on Thursday, the company said that besides its core functions, users can also “delete conversations, add people to conversations, send direct messages to people from a group conversation, share your location, make a phone call and more.”
Blowing its own trumpet, it said the app has been welcomed by universities, organizations, and office workers, adding that it’s “improving communication flow around offices, campuses and other workplaces.”
Microsoft confirmed that a Windows Phone version is also under development.
