How to set up Outlook.com email on your iPhone or iPad

Microsoft has released Outlook.com, what they consider to be the next-generation of email. And much to their credit, Microsoft have gone above and beyond to make sure you can access it not only on the web, but from any and all of your devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Here's how.

How to access Outlook.com (or Hotmail or Live Mail) on your iPhone or iPad via Mail

Better than the website, you can set up the built-in iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad Mail app to get your Outlook.com email.

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Scroll down and tap on Mail, Contacts, and Calendars.
3. Tap on Add Account.
4. Tap on Hotmail.
5. Enter your Outlook.com email address and password.
6. Select what you want to Sync.

And you're done! You will miss out on any web-specific features, which are what Microsoft is working to make all shiny and revolutionary, but you will get all your mail in the unified inbox, right beside iCloud and Gmail if you use those services as well.

Note: You can also set up Outlook.com as Exchange ActiveSync. Just follow the same steps above but choose the Exchange button and use m.hotmail.com as your server.

How to access Outlook.com on your iPhone or iPad via the web

You can login to Outlook.com on your iPhone or iPad, the same as you can login to it on your Windows or Mac PC.

1. Go to http://www.outlook.com
2. Enter your Outlook.com email address and password.
3. And you're in!
4. If you'd rather use the full site than the stripped down mobile site, scroll down and tap on PC Site (why "PC Site" and not "Full Version"? Ask Microsoft!).

If you're on your iPhone, you'll get a warning saying you need to upgrade your browser to a newer version of Safari. Ignore than and tap on Continue. That's just poor interception (since you can't update iPhone Safari the way they imply.)

If you need any extra help, jump into the Outlook.com setup thread in our iOS 5 Forum.