IM client gains a previously announced Internet phone capability.
Yahoo Inc. recently said it is launching a service in the United States that lets people make phone calls through the company’s instant messaging software.
Previously, the company had only introduced the feature to select users in seven countries back in December. Since then, Yahoo has been doing a staggered rollout of the feature, which is now available for German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Singaporean users.
Yahoo says it plans to bring the new features to its co-branded Internet access services in the coming months.
We look forward to further incorporating voice features into Yahoo!’s global services, from communications to search, to help simplify and improve the Internet experience for our hundreds of millions of users around the world, Yahoo communications vice president Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement.
Using instant messaging for phone calls is one of the latest ways that technology companies are finding cheaper ways to allow people to talk all over the world without relying on traditional phone networks.
"Right now the competition is just about cheap voice calls," Forrester Research analyst Maribel Lopez said.
With this move, Yahoo is trying to get a piece of the hot Internet phone market, which is led by Skype. Skype has captured a global audience of users with its intuitive, low-cost, high-quality service.
The move also attempts to undercut rates offered by Skype, a service offered by eBay Inc.
Making Calls:
The upgrade to the instant messaging service, called Yahoo Messenger with Voice, lets users dial out from the IM interface to traditional or mobile phones. Yahoo Messenger users are also able to rent one or more phone numbers from Yahoo to receive phone calls through the IM interface.
Tests in the initial five countries where the service launched proved more successful than anticipated, especially in France, said Garlinghouse, where strong demand for both Yahoo Phone In and Phone Out services occurred.
Calls made to phone numbers in the U.S. and 30 other countries with heavy telecommunications traffic will cost 2 cents per minute or less. Calls can also be made to over 150 other countries. Rates vary and are based on the place where the call terminates.
While the capability to receive calls would cost $2.99 USD per month or $29.90 USD annually, users are able to obtain one or more phone numbers to receive calls from regular or mobile phones via their Yahoo Messenger interface. Initially, only U.S., U.K., and French numbers are available.
Yahoo Messenger with Voice rates average between 20 percent and 30 percent lower than Skype to many major markets outside the United States, according to a comparison furnished by Yahoo.
Yahoo’s service is one among a growing list of competitors, including Time Warner Inc.’s America Online as well as Microsoft Corp.
While initially the focus is on offering cheap phone calling for computer users, the battleground should quickly shift onto mobile and cordless phones, analysts said.
Attracting and retaining mobile phone customers also is something Yahoo, with its ties to major U.S. and U.K. carriers could use to distinguish itself from Skype.
But Garlinghouse stopped short of saying when Yahoo Messenger might feature on mobile phones: "We have not yet announced any relationships to Yahoo Messenger with Voice onto a mobile phone," he said.
Yahoo Messenger with Voice also features a free voice-mail service, and for the first time adds a banner ad in the IM interface that will be "unobtrusive," Garlinghouse said. “It uses the Global IP Sound GIPS VoiceEngine technology to process audio.”
In response to consumer complaints, Yahoo has dropped X10; the previous provider of software used to control sound quality and has signed up Global IP Sound as a supplier instead. The move brings Yahoo’s audio quality exactly in line with rivals AOL, Google and Skype who rely on Global IP Sound themselves.
By enabling best quality sound in the Yahoo Messenger client software for the U.S., the capabilities become effectively available globally, said Garlinghouse.
Toward that end, Garlinghouse said Yahoo has struck phone partnerships with headset maker Plantronics, VTech, a maker of USB handsets, and Siemens AG, a big maker of cordless phones.
Those wishing to find out more about the VoIP service can visit the Yahoo Voice website.