Windows Mail for XP

Windows Mail for Windows XP: the release of Windows Vista marked the end of Outlook Express as the email program bundled with the Windows operating system. Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows shipped with Outlook Express; Windows Vista shipped with Windows Mail, the latest built-in email program for Windows. Concurrently, Windows Live Mail, another free email program by Microsoft, was built, distributed, and improved as time passed. Windows 7 ships without any email client built-in. So, how about Windows Mail for XP?

Get Windows Mail for Windows XP

Unlike Outlook Express, which was a downloadable product, Windows Mail cannot be downloaded for XP, as it ships as a core operating system component of Windows Vista. This means that you cannot get Windows Mail for Windows XP. But, the differences between Outlook Express and Windows Mail are so small, that you would gain little by upgrading from Outlook Express to Windows Mail (the notable exception of course being junk mail filters, which are not available in Outlook Express, but included in Windows Mail).

What's the next best thing after Windows Mail for Windows XP users?

Since you cannot get Windows Mail for Windows XP, what's the next best thing? Well,  luckily, Microsoft gives out for free the Windows Live Mail email program, which is not only a synthesis of Outlook Express and Windows Mail, it actually also gives you much more functionality. As Windows XP user, Windows Live Mail is the best value for the money, and is second only to Microsoft Outlook.

So, to get Windows Mail for Windows XP, your best choice is to download and install Windows Live Mail (available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7). To learn more about this great replacement for Windows Mail, please see our Windows Live Mail tutorial.

We think that, were you to test drive Windows Mail on Windows XP, you would end up preferring Windows Live Mail anyway! And the advantage of using Windows Live Mail is also that you can install it on probably all your computers, since it supports the three latest versions of Windows (unlike Windows Mail, which you could only use on Windows Vista computers).