Sunnyvale, California — Prominent Internet pioneer Yahoo, which introduced the beta offering of its online e-mail service in October, on Tuesday announced that it is fully geared up with a final version of its revamped Yahoo Mail service that it will begin to roll out to its 284 million users worldwide “in the coming weeks,” in an attempt to regain momentum in the free Webmail arena, where it competes with Google and Microsoft.
The revamped email service announced today at the Witching Hour, was conceived in an attempt to make it more appealing to people who are shifting to social networking sites as their primary means of communication and to help encourage people to spend more time on Yahoo properties.
The latest version of e-mail service will be made available to 284 million users catering to 43 markets and 26 languages around the globe.
“This is the massive redesign of Yahoo Mail in six years, and we rebuilt it with a focus on performance to make it at least 2x faster than previous versions,” according to a post on the company’s Yodel Anecdotal blog. “In addition, we upgraded our spam technology to ensure that you are not receiving unwanted messages. Did you know that Yahoo! Mail already blocks more than 550 billion spam messages per month?”
In addition to offering speed enhancements, the company has bundled in a number of new social media networking features, including Facebook and Twitter into its e-mail service. For instance, users will be able to respond to Facebook messages directly from within an e-mail rather than hopping to Facebook or see updates from Twitter.
Some of the novel features, empowers users to view slideshows and YouTube videos directly from within an e-mail are already part of rival services, such as Microsoft’s Windows Live Hotmail.
The revamped mail program also blends in instant messaging and text messages seamlessly, archiving conversations by default. A built-in tool from YouSendIt, which is capable of sending attachments of up to 100 megabytes, with additional services built-in for other tasks, such as tracking purchases or unsubscribing from bulk-email. The company has also prioritized contacts in the service, pushing e-mail from those in your address book to the top of unread messages.
“Yahoo’s perception for online communications links up all the tools that people use to connect — email, chat, SMS, and social updates — and makes it easier for them to share content and engage in conversations with the people that matter most to them,” Blake Irving, Yahoo chief product officer, said in a statement. He maintains that the new Yahoo mail offers an “engaging and constantly connected experience across desktop, mobile and tablet devices that keeps the conversation going — anytime, anywhere.”
Yahoo is serious about the “anytime, anywhere” concept, hence, the latest version of Yahoo Mail will be offering mobile experience to Nokia, Verizon, Rogers Communications and other partners, as well. In addition to the Yahoo Mail launch, Nokia email and chat services are now “Powered by Yahoo,” offering Nokia users an easier, safer and more social email and chat experience,” according to the Yodel Anecdotal blog post.
Among the key new features of Yahoo Mail:
- Improved mail search and faster loading.
- Prioritize close contacts for faster email, IM and SMS conversations.
- Send up to 100MB email attachments.
- Messages from Facebook, other Webmail and updates from Twitter, Facebook and Zynga are integrated in a tab.
- View inline videos and slideshows from the inbox.
- Use “Updates” tab to share to Facebook, Twitter and Zynga.
Despite being the top e-mail provider in the U.S., catering around 277 million accounts, the company has been losing ground in recent years, dropping 1 percent globally over the last 12 months, according to comScore.
However, Yahoo Mail users should see an upgrade option from the inbox, which right now points to the beta. Just click the “Upgrade Now” button and experience the novel features.