Since Microsoft launched Bing back in 2009, I’ve assumed they would eventually build a free webmail service around it, or at least incorporate it with their Hotmail brand.
For as cool as the Bing name is, I suppose I should assume that even if the folks at Microsoft eventually do make it available as an email address, they would still somehow screw it up. After all, they still can’t seem to make Hotmail a viable contender against Yahoo Mail or Gmail, despite their previous 347 attempts at re-launching or re-branding the free email service.
Unfortunately, after coming across an article in the New York Times about how Bing has seemingly been a distraction for Microsoft, as well as being a money loser, I’m starting to think we may never see a Bing email service.
I won’t pretend to understand the full economics behind free email. I assume the free ad-supported model is enough of a money maker for such companies, or at the very least, brings enough people to their respective home pages to be worth the effort.
By now, I suppose if Microsoft thought a Bing.com email service was of any value, they would have started one by now. At the very least, it would have given people one more chance to get the email address of their dreams. With Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail, the good names are all taken.
