Microsoft just launched their Metro-themed email service, outlook.com - dubbed as "The Modern Email for the Next Billion Mailboxes", and so far, I like what I'm seeing.
With a minimalist interface combined with the sense of being one of the firsts, it has that early Gmail feeling. Time will tell if this will stick or will they track the path that leads to the Gmail of today, with the ads, clutter(?) and all that.
With the minimalism, virtually unlimited storage and the not-forced social media integration, Outlook seems like a total reaction to Gmail and what it has become.
P.S. They can do without the creepy guy on the landing page.