Microsoft re-launches MSN with new look in the UK

Microsoft has launched a new version of its popular news and entertainment portal - MSN UK.

Following in the footsteps of the U.S. and Brazil, the new site features a simple design that integrates content from Facebook, Twitter and MSN's Video Player service. MSN UK also includes the new butterfly logo to keep it more up to date with its American counterpart. According to recent comScore data the MSN UK homepage attracts 20.6 million unique users each month. Peter Bale, MSN UK Executive Producer at Microsoft, said: “Our readers told us they wanted a homepage that downloaded faster, had the content they wanted easily to hand and helped them stay connected to their friends. The new-look homepage is their page and we hope they like it."

The MSN portal is ranked in the top 10 websites across the world, partly due to the fact it's the default homepage for new Internet Explorer installs. Matt Ball, editor of MSN UK, added: “The editorial team at MSN UK works extremely hard to bring users the latest in news, trends and compelling stories and features. Our content covers breaking news and topical issues, exclusive interviews, bespoke features and celebrity gossip - making MSN one of the UK’s favourite web portals.”

The new homepage will go live on Tuesday 1 June at 8:30PM.  To test out the new look MSN UK and try out the features, go to www.msn.co.uk  or take a tour of the new features at www.tourmsn.co.uk

UK’s MSN Video Player Now Integrated Into Windows Media Center

This news is great but I think it should have been there since day one, anyway aside from my opinions Microsoft have today made available an easy way to browse the UK only MSN Video Player in Windows Media Center. However I am unable to install it, which is very annoying.

First I made sure Windows Media Center had downloaded everything recently, then the MSN Video Player option appeared, I then followed the on screen instructions and the update was downloaded. It was at this point the problem occurred, WMC downloads the update then does nothing with it, returning me to the install screen of the video player.

Its annoying I can’t get it to work, if you can download and install it then please let me know. Anyway here are some pictures of the little bit of the MSN Video Player I was able to see.

Microsoft announces new MSN mobile homepage

According to Microsoft, the new site, which can be found at mobile.msn.com, involves "some big changes." From the new homepage you can now access media in a way that was never possible with the old site. Here are some of the new things you will notice:

• New tabbed content with sections for news, sports, and entertainment
• One-click access to Bing, Windows Live Hotmail, and Messenger
• A new breaking news module that will show time-sensitive news
• Bing auto-suggest drop down list
• Ability to personalize stock quotes, weather, dating content, and more
• Inline video content

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the new and old homepage, as well as some examples of how it looks on the iPhone. You can clearly see the difference. Microsoft's new MSN mobile layout aims to take away the look and feel of being restricted to mobile content, and in the process, present a more elegant and easy to use format, more consistent with Web 2.0 standards.

On the iPhone:

MSN Video Player In UK To Get Free Films

Techradar are today reporting that the MSN Video player in the UK, which currently allows UK citizens to catch up on TV and watch film trailers, has signed a deal with Paramount Studios to bring full length films to the service too; what’s more is that these films will be free.

The MSN Video Player has only recently left beta testing and, as I understand it, is very much like Hulu in the US. Microsoft seem to be keen to position this service as the main service in the UK to offer free online videos. The advantage that Microsoft have with this service over each individual channel’s catch up offering is that this offers TV shows from all channels and not just from within the last week or month, like on the BBC iPlayer.

If Microsoft are also able to offer free films which might well be of the likes of Transformers or Indiana Jones then they could rapidly increase the popularity of the service.

However Microsoft have not said when the films can be expected to appear on the service or how many will be available at any one time. It is thought this film deal will also spread to the other Video Players across Europe in the coming months.

As good as this service will be it seems to directly compete with the Zune Marketplace which offers rentable movies, to me it would make more sense to promote Zune with free movies rather than the MSN video service which I don’t believe has much of a future going forward. If Microsoft want to position Zune as the entertainment service to use then surely this is where Microsoft should be focussing its efforts, maybe when Zune finally launches globally in the latter half of this year will we see these kind of services merged.

MSN, partners launch 'Glo' lifestyle Web site for women

Microsoft's MSN has launched a new lifestyle Web site for style, beauty, living and relationship content targeted at women aged 25 to 49.

It's called Glo, and it very much brings a print-magazine look and feel to the Web. MSN partnered with media companies Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and BermanBraun to fill out the content it offers on Glo.

"This is really designed to be an escape for women," Anne Weintraub, the Glo executive editor, said during a conference call with media Tuesday morning. With content that's supposed to be fun, enjoyable and relatable, Glo aims to "acknowledge with a wink the guilty pleasure of these categories," she said.

Without Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight, the site features dynamic navigation through large-form visuals. Every day, Glo will get about seven new content pieces – including the main features, which are paired with "large, glossy photos to trigger an endorphin rush," Weintraub said.

It's the site for which Microsoft announced plans in December. Hachette owns magazines such as Elle, Elle Decor and Women's Day; BermanBraun produces TV shows such as "Mercy" (NBC), "Accidentally on Purpose" (CBS) and "Is She Really Going out with Him?" (MTV).

Glo's content comes from MSN writers and editors, Hachette magazines and online partners such as Remodelista and StyleSpot, executives said. And both Hachette and MSN will publicize the new site on their own Web sites – MSN, for one, has added a new "Glo" option in its pull-down "lifestyle" tab.

MSN World Cup News Centre Will Launch in April

Microsoft is gearing up for the upcoming 2010 football World Cup in South Africa, and revealed plans to provide online coverage via MSN. According to the Redmond company, by the end of April 2010, a new dedicated sports news center will go live on MSN, with content from Press Association Sport. The MSN World Cup News Centre will provide football/soccer fans across Europe with both news and analysis on the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, which is now just 72 days away.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Press Association Sport to create the pre-eminent online destination for World Cup fans on MSN across EMEA,” revealed Geoff Sutton, general manager, MSN Media International, “With topical news, commentary and multimedia experiences bespoke for 13 markets, as well as live match coverage, brands have a fantastic opportunity to connect with the MSN audience across a number of countries, as the tournament unfolds”.

The World Cup News Centre will be offered in no less than 13 territories in EMEA, such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Microsoft indicated that users in each region would be able to access tailor-made content, with Press Association Sport working to provide locally relevant perspectives on World Cup events. In this regard, the News Centre will also be localized in no less than nine languages. The promise from the software giant is that users will be able to enjoy a variety of content, including ‘Shoot Live’ photography of ongoing games being played. Through the “Live Match Experience” users will be able to tap live match data and statistics, but also live text commentary.

“This is a fantastic deal for Press Association Sport – the strength of our content combined with MSN’s reach represents a great strategic fit and allows us to deliver our comprehensive World Cup offering to a huge international audience of football fans. The ‘World Cup News Centre’ provides MSN users with a one-stop-shop for all the latest tournament news, commentary and fixtures specifically tailored for their home territory, and we look forward to charting all the action from 19th April,” added Ian Campbell, managing director, Press Association Sport.

Microsoft Releases Updated MSN Homepage

Microsoft's "MSN Preview" now has a permanent home at MSN.com  - their updated homepage new UI (User Interface) is very clean, so finding the new features should be easy!

Try New MSN Homepage

Take the Tour MSN Homepage Tour

MSN Homepage Launch Begins Today

Today is an exciting milestone for MSN. We are beginning the launch of our new homepage to our customers in the U.S. The new MSN homepage cuts through the clutter with a clean, new design and offers search, news, local and social networking – all in one place. We encourage you to try the new homepage today and learn more about the many cool features.

Since the preview of our new homepage began in November, we’ve been very busy gathering over 70,000 pieces of customer feedback and introducing over 30 updates in our quest to deliver the best homepage to stay in the know.

Check it out here: http://www.msn.com/preview.aspx

Source: http://msnblog.msn.com/blogpost.aspx?post=1686726

Microsoft launches MSN portal for Men

Microsoft has launched a MSN Him portal, a website dedicated to the modern man, covering topics like Men’s Fashion, Dating, Machines, Health, Extreme Sports and Home Cinema.

On MSN Him you can get all of this:

How to look the part.
The Style section will help you dress to impress without paying over the odds for it and guide you through the important and occasionally challenging world of male grooming.

Ways to make the most of your free time.
In Time Off you’ll find great ideas for modern sports you can enjoy whatever your budget and tips for having a great night out.

A conversational arsenal to make you a shoe-in for the next series of QI.
Hop over to our In The Know section to equip yourself with facts and figures on amazing machines, history, true crime and more.

How to feel great and be lucky in love.
MSN’s expert writers will help you navigate the tricky waters of health and relationships.

Visit MSN Him.

MSN Announces New Online Lifestyle Experience

Today, MSN announced an extension of the partnership with BermanBraun Interactive and a new partnership with Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S.), publisher of ELLE, Woman’s Day and ELLE DECOR brands, to launch a new online lifestyle experience focused on style, beauty, relationships and home décor.

The current offering, MSN Lifestyle, which features great content from a wide range of partners, reaches about 8 million people every month.

The new lifestyle site will be distributed through MSN and promoted on the HFM U.S. Web sites and magazine properties.

The new site, which will launch in the first half of next year, will present a wide range of accessible content in an inspiring and innovative visual package. The design, programming and operations of the new digital brand will be spearheaded by BermanBraun and HFM U.S. MSN will lead the advertising sales effort along with HFM U.S. on selected accounts.

The new site will be designed to appeal to the highly valuable adult female audience, ages 25-49, building upon the existing MSN audience.

Lifestyle is an area we see a great opportunity to introduce a new way for consuming lifestyle information – similar to how we broke the mold with our innovative Wonderwall site in the celebrity news category, which is complementary to our broader MSN Entertainment offering.

More at MSN Blog.

Microsoft launches MSN Juku as a part of ClubM in China

Microsoft has launched a microblog / twitter style service in China based on Windows Live Messenger, expanding the social-networking functions linked to the chat software in a country where it is a hit.

The new service, which is called MSN Juku and is now in beta, lets users post 140-character messages to an update screen that slowly scrolls old messages to the right. The service automatically links users with people on theirLive Messenger contact lists, whose updates also appear on the scrolling timeline.

Posts are also stacked top-to-bottom and display only their first few words when they appear close together. Pointing the mouse at a condensed message shows its full version.

MSN China, the Microsoft joint venture that developed the new product, insisted it is not a microblog service. “Juku is a local innovation developed by MSN China … based on WindowsLive Messenger networks,” a company representative said in an e-mail.

The new MSN service is likely an effort by Microsoft to win more users for its social-networking products as well as its instant-messaging service, said Ashley Liu, an analyst at In-Stat. WindowsLive Messenger is popular in China, especially among office workers, but rival instant-messaging program QQ is also widely used and has gotten a boost from value-added services built around it, Liu said. Tencent, the owner of QQ, has had major success selling users upgrades to their accounts and virtual goods such as weapons for online games. More at Source.