Microsoft announces new features in Outlook Lite, SMS support for Indian users

New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Microsoft on Tuesday announced new features in Outlook Lite, along with SMS support for users in India.

Outlook Lite also brings support for Indian vernacular languages to enable users to effectively communicate.

Outlook Lite is inclusive and responsive to the diverse linguistic needs of Indian users with features such as voice typing, transliteration, and reading emails in regional languages, to make it easier for users to compose and read emails in their preferred language, the company said.

"With SMS integration and vernacular language support, Outlook Lite redefines communication accessibility and provides users with a more convenient & personalized experience," Rajiv Kumar, MD, Microsoft India Development Centre and Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices, India Group, said in a statement.

Whether users want to dictate an email in Hindi, type an email in Tamil, and have it automatically converted to English, or read an email in Gujarati, Outlook Lite will help them do that.

Currently supporting five Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Gujarati, it will soon expand to more.

More languages and dialects will also be added in future to continue catering to the linguistic diversity of India, Microsoft said.

Moreover, SMS support in Outlook Lite will help simplify how users consume transactional and promotional information by providing a unified and smart inbox that organises messages by categories, such as transactions, promotions and personal.

Users can easily switch between different categories and view relevant messages in one place.

This feature will also remind them of important appointments, travel bookings, bill payments, and gas booking reminders, which usually get lost in information overload.

Outlook Lite will also soon support language translation for SMS, so users can read messages in their preferred language, or switch between languages with a single tap.