In a move to compete against Gmail and Hotmail, Yahoo rolled out Yahoo Mail Beta on Wednesday for its 273 million users. The new interface promises faster, easier, safer and more social communications. But is it enough to ward off Gmail innovations?
Yahoo Mail users can opt-in to the new beta product to get the new features, which include easier navigation, inbox organizing tools, the ability to browse photos and videos, a better search tool for e-mails, and improved spam protection.
Users will immediately recognize the new interface, which remains consistent across desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Consumers will also notice that the beta version lets them connect with friends on Twitter and Facebook and offers enhanced instant-messaging and texting tools.
Designed for Social Speed
“Online communication tools are an important part of people’s lives — whether they’re connecting with their friends and family, sharing pictures and videos, or keeping up on news across social networks,” said Blake Irving, chief product officer at Yahoo.
Yahoo is hoping to leverage that trend with its new e-mail framework. Yahoo said the new interface was designed from the ground up for speed. The beta version is at least twice as fast as the current Yahoo Mail, the company said, and offers faster tools. The goal is driving productivity and making it easier to find what users are looking for and use third-party applications from the inbox.
One example is the social-media integration. Rather than logging onto Facebook and Twitter home pages, Yahoo wants you to stay in Yahoo Mail and share your status updates. Yahoo also wants you to stay in its mail service to instant-message and text-message people, browse photos on Flickr and Picassa, and watch YouTube videos from within e-mail messages. It’s the one-stop-shop theory.
Keeping Display Advertisers
Rounding out the new Yahoo Mail Beta features, a…