According to recent Press Release from Yahoo!(R) we will soon be introduced to a new and improved Yahoo! Mobile service.
Features are to include:
- Yahoo! oneSearch(TM) - Yahoo!'s award-winning mobile search service providing the most current, relevant answers you need.
- Today - The most interesting stories buzzing on the Internet right now, selected by Yahoo!'s editorial team.
- Email - Access to Yahoo! Mail and other popular email service providers, including Gmail(R), Windows Live(TM) Hotmail and AOL(R) Mail.
- Pulse - Access totheir social networks, including Bebo(R), Dopplr(TM), Facebook(R), Flickr(R), Friendster(R), Last.fm(R), MySpace(R), Twitter(TM) and YouTube(TM).
- Yahoo! Address Book - Keeps consumers' contacts always handy and in sync.
- Yahoo! Calendar - View, add and edit appointments when users are away from their PCs.
- Yahoo! News - Breaking headlines across popular topics.
The smartphone version of Yahoo! Mobile is to include the above, plus:
- Yahoo! oneSearch with Voice(TM) - Allowing users to launch searches by simply speaking.
- Maps - Powerful improved tools that let consumers locate, learn about and get directions to points of interest.
- Opera Mini(TM) 4.2 - An integrated version of the world's most popular mobile web browser, with easy return to the Yahoo! Mobile app, that launches when web site access is needed.
- Widgets - Enhanced mobile-optimized experiences for services from Yahoo! and other brands. Users can browse, add and remove these at anytime according to their tastes.
I gave it a spin on my Blackberry this morning and submitted an application to be a beta tester.
I currently use many of Google's mobile services that I find extremely valuable. Google allows you to sync your calendar, contacts and appointments to and from your mobile device and the web, and the Google maps feature is nice on occasion. Gmail has been very easy to use as well. I recently installed Google Latitude, which tracks my Blackberry's GPS signal. Although the application was intended for others to know where you are, I installed it should I ever lose it or have it stolen.
It will be interesting to see what Yahoo! Mobile has in store for us in terms of productivity, tools we can use in our daily business routines and of course possible channels for marketing online.
