Hotmail (First era)
1996-1997
Hotmail was launched on July 4, 1996. Its original name and capitalization refers to HTML, the encoding language used by the World Wide Web.
1997-1998
MSN Hotmail
1998-1999
Hotmail was sold to Microsoft on December 1997, and soon after it was added to the MSN group of services and renamed MSN Hotmail.
1999-2006
As a result of the new MSN logo, the Hotmail logo was also changed.
Windows Live Hotmail
2007-2010
In 2007, MSN Hotmail integrated into the new Windows Live services, becoming Windows Live Hotmail.
2010-2011
With the release of Windows Live Wave 4 update in mid 2010, Hotmail got a new logo.
2011-2012
All Windows Live services are rebranded to Microsoft as they decide to kill off the Windows Live brand. The icon has also been refreshed.
Hotmail (Second era)
2012