CNet News carries a gallery of screenshots of the latest Outlook beta with commentary.

The fourteen images cover everything from the main window (see below) to the Compose Window (featuring a message in plain text!) to various preference options.

In the main window the most notable new thing is the To-Do Bar on the right of the window:

The beta continues the Microsoft design philosophy of overwhelming the user with options and buttons. Compare the Contact card in Outlook 2007b2 to the interface in Address Book:

See the screenshot of the Compose window toolbar for a further example.

According to a separate report on CNet , Office 2007 is now scheduled for release in January 2007 (or maybe later ).