Hotmail’s a Hit Thanks to Apple

Apple and Microsoft continue their love/hate relationship, with the pendulum swinging to love this time. The relaunched, revamped Hotmail has snagged more than two million new signups… on the iPhone.

According to a blog post on the Windows Live site, some 2 million Hotmail accounts have been linked to an iOS device since iOS 5 shipped on October 12, and the company is gaining about 100,000 subscribers every day. The reason, and Microsoft acknowledges this, is that iOS 5 made it much easier to connect to a Hotmail account from an iOS gadget.

The one question mark is why are iOS users adopting Hotmail. Are they simply following Apple’s lead in its feud with Google and shunning Gmail? Or is the relaunched, revamped Hotmail, with its improved spam filtering, really winning over new users?

Microsoft recently relaunched Hotmail, officially dubbed Windows Live Hotmail now, with a new interface and emphasis on cleaning up spam. Microsoft says Hotmail has around 360 million unique monthly users, so two million iOS users is a drop in the bucket, but the growth rate of 100,000 a day is remarkable.

So I ask you iOS 5/Hotmail users, what’s the appeal?