The refreshed Yahoo Mail is coming out of beta and will be available
worldwide in the coming weeks, the struggling Internet company promised.
Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO)
launched the new Yahoo Mail last fall, pledging a Webmail experience that is
twice as fast as the previous version.
The company also relied on its integration partnerships
with Facebook, Zynga and Twitter to make the user experience more
social for its 277 million users (comScore figure).
Yahoo Mail users will be able to use the Quick reply bar
to respond to messages sent from senders using Yahoo Mail, Yahoo
Groups, Facebook and other Webmail apps, such as Gmail.
Users can also view photo slideshows and video content, as well as view and post notifications
and updates via Twitter, Facebook and Zynga, all without leaving
the inbox.
In addition, Yahoo Mail offers some degree of inbox
prioritization based on users' interaction with contacts. When users go to
compose an email, instant message or text message, they will see
their most frequent contacts first. Google has done something like this with
its Priority Inbox conversation technology.
Also, users chat with Facebook friends alongside Windows
Live and Yahoo Messenger contacts and view all of their past IM and text
conversations within Yahoo Mail. This is a big part of the inbox
integration kick Yahoo is on for its core messaging app.
Yahoo Mail, which employs SpamGuard technology and a new
anti-phishing platform to protect users, also now lets users navigate, sort and
narrow the search results by sender, attachment file, date or folder location.
Finally, Yahoo is offering apps that let users manage their invitations through eVite, unsubscribe from email newsletters and send large files
via YouSendIt.
While Yahoo Mail is targeted at consumers, the company
said the service will also be available to its global business partners,
including Nokia, Verizon, Rogers Telecommunications, and other device
manufacturers and broadband service providers.
New Yahoo Mail comes one day before the company hosts its
2011 analyst day. Caris & Company analyst Sandeep Aggarwal said most analysts
will focus on the company's stake in Alibaba Group, its integration with Bing
search and trends in display advertising.