Corel Takes on Microsoft Outlook

Corel has announced it would offer its new e-mail client as a standalone product in a bid to offer a viable alternative to Outlook. The client was part of the WordPerfect Office suite, but Corel decided to offer WordPerfect Mail on its own and competitively price to win converts from Microsoft Office.

"The addition of WordPerfect Mail to the Corel product family supports WordPerfect Office's position as the only truly viable alternative to Microsoft Office," said Richard Carriere, General Manager for Office Productivity at Corel. "With the addition of a world-class email client, Corel is advancing its commitment to consumers and small businesses."

The program offers many of the same features as Outlook, including calendar and search functions. However, WordPerfect Mail's search functions are what sets the client apart from its competitors, Corel says.

Using technology from the now defunct e-mail client Bloomba, Corel claims that searches taking minutes in Eudora or Outlook using the standard search functions will only take seconds in WordPerfect Mail.

Bloomba was widely praised for its search integration. While the client looked much like Outlook, there was no system of hierarchical folders, just a search bar below the standard mail functions. A user would access messages using a search term.

Also included with WordPerfect Mail is spam protection based on technology from SA Proxy Pro. The technology will adapt to what a user considers spam by using both preset definitions, as well as input from the user. RSS reading support is also built into Corel's e-mail client.

WordPerfect Mail is available immediately and Corel will offer the product for $69 USD, or $29 USD on its Web site if purchased with another Corel product.