New Hotmail Version Now Fully Deployed ... Plus, a Hotmail App for Android

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To say that Microsoft has been on a torrid release schedule when it comes to upgrading its cloud-based services is a bit of an understatement. Today, the company revealed that it has completed deploying the latest version of its Hotmail email service, so all customers are now on the new version. And in celebration of that, the company has provided a list of the top 10 new features in this release ... and a new Hotmail app for Android.

"We're excited about this release and hope you will be, too," Microsoft's Dick Craddock writes in a blog post. "So without further ado, here are ten new reasons to love Hotmail."

Schedule cleanup: Automatically manage mass emails. Hotmail can automatically manage emails from the same sender, like newsletters or event calendars, via a new feature called Schedule cleanup that is available on the Sweep menu.

Schedule cleanup: Deleting messages. Hotmail can automatically delete or move messages to a folder after a set amount of time.

One-click Unsubscribe. You can remove unwanted messages from your inbox instantly and permanently.

Improved flags. Flagged messages stay pinned to the top of your inbox even when new email arrives, so you never lose track of your most important email.

Improved PhotoMail and DocMail. You can now preview and perform inline editing on these unique Hotmail email types.

Send files with SkyDrive. Don't worry about email attachment size limits: Hotmail lets you store large files on SkyDrive instead of sending them as an attachment. 

Forgotten Attachment Detector. This new feature reminds you to attach a file when there are phrases like "see attachments" in an email with no attachments.

Customizable Instant Actions. In addition to the previously-added Instant Actions (delete, flag, and mark as read/unread), you can now create and customize your own Instant Actions so that your inbox works the way you want.

Folder management. Now, you can create new folders inline and drag one folder into another to create a nested hierarchy, move messages to a folder using drag and drop, and access common folder operations from a new right-click menu. 

Android phone support. There's a new Hotmail app for Android with full EAS support for all of your email, calendar, and contacts. It supports multiple Hotmail accounts on the same device and displays new mail notifications on the Home screen.

Microsoft previously revealed its latest Hotmail version back in October, when it declared war on graymail and first discussed some of the new features it was rolling out.