August 31, 2007 on 9:49 am | In Mobile | 23 Comments
While using Yahoo! Messenger on a Blackberry is not new, a recent demo I got from the mobile team was enough to merit a blog mention. If you have a Blackberry smartphone, or are considering getting one, you’ll get to experience the best mobile version of Yahoo! Messenger that’s out there.
Most mobile phone users use the mobile web version of Yahoo! Messenger by visiting http://m.yahoo.com through their phone’s web browser. But on select devices, like a Blackberry, a more robust, downloadable application is available that includes some key extras like the ability to notify you when new IMs come in, even if you’re doing something else on the phone. The Blackberry version also offers graphical emoticons, and the ever-popular Buzz feature.
If you have a Blackberry, there are a couple of ways to get Yahoo! Messenger. Visit the Yahoo! Messenger download page on the Blackberry site (scroll to the bottom and click the Download button), or on your Blackberry, select the Internet Browser icon on the homepage and navigate to http://www.blackberry.com/yahoodownload.
It’s free to download Yahoo! Messenger and use it on your Blackberry, but note that carrier airtime, usage fees and other taxes may apply. Check the details of your Blackberry’s data plan with your mobile provider. Yahoo! Messenger is available for the following Blackberry devices: BlackBerry® 7100, 7200, 7500, 7700, 8700 and 8800 series, BlackBerry® Pearl™, and BlackBerry® Curve™. Yahoo! Messenger is not available for Blackberry users on AT&T.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
August 8, 2007 on 10:45 am | In Mobile | 4 Comments
3, a leading mobile service in the UK, announced the availablility of Yahoo! Messenger to their 3.9 million users. Yahoo! Messenger is free to download to 3 mobile phones and customers can get free Yahoo! Messenger for life on the Pay Monthly plan, and free until the end of 2007 on the Pay As You Go plan.
Click here for more information on Yahoo! Messenger & 3
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
June 20, 2007 on 10:58 am | In Mobile | 81 Comments
This week, we launched a new Beta version of Yahoo! Messenger for Mobile (WAP version). This new version improves on both features and performance. Here’s a quick summary of the improvements:
- Full conversation view which allows for a running conversation rather than the back and forth “SMS” style exchanges in the old version.
- A more appealing look to the application that now includes status icons (busy, idle), Avatars and display images.
- New lighter version that speeds performance.
- Support for more devices. If you couldn’t use Yahoo! Messenger on your mobile phone previously, be sure to try this new Beta version.
The application also offers some handy customization features for your contact list. You can display your friends by most recently contacted, those that are online, or all (offline and online). If you like to see your contacts sorted by groups you’ve created, just click the “Show Groups” link.
A handy search box also makes it easy to find a friend on your list without scrolling through multiple screens. You can also add contacts right from your phone. Don’t want to be contacted? Click the “Go Invisible” link to enter stealth mode.
To try the new Yahoo! Messenger for Mobile Beta, go to http://yahoo.com on your mobile phone (or http://m.yahoo.com if it doesn’t redirect automatically), and then click the “Messenger (Beta)” link.
Check out this earlier blog post for more information on mobile features for Yahoo! Messenger.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
May 11, 2007 on 11:21 am | In Mobile | 9 Comments
There’s a slick new integration of Yahoo! Messenger on Helio’s latest device (I’ve been told I shouldn’t just call it a “phone”
), The Ocean. One of the most talked-about features is the dual QWERTY and numeric keyboards that pop out from the main handset. So already we’re talking about a phone that makes messaging easier.
If you’re into mobile messaging, the Helio Ocean will be hard to resist. Unlike traditional mobile phones that require you to sign into each service when you want to email or IM, the Ocean integrates all your options into a single messaging hub. “Just start typing a name from Ocean’s idle screen and the Helio Smart Dialer searches the address book by first and last name and pulls up full contact information, complete with icons to show if a person is logged in to Yahoo! Messenger, AIM or Windows Live Messenger.” And when a new IM message comes in, you get an alert on the screen which you can click to respond or ignore.
There are other Yahoo! services integrated into the phone including Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Address book, which gets synced automatically with your contact list. The wondrous thing about the Helio is the online services are seamlessly integrated into the Ocean’s features. For example, when you do a web search, you get results from Yahoo!, Google, Amazon and Wikipedia, all in separate tabs for the choosing.
In addition to the cool messaging integrations, the Helio Ocean offers an array of multimedia features like external stereo speakers, Bluetooth, a 2.0 megapixel camera, plus support for music storage and playback (or other files). And soon after launch, they’ll offer a custom MySpace application that lets you add, edit and view photos and profiles.
I don’t have a Helio Ocean in hand so I can’t give you intimate details, but head over to Slashgear for a great hands-on review of the device. The Helio Ocean is priced at $295 and is available at Helio stores or online at http://www.helio.com.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
April 17, 2007 on 9:17 am | In Mobile | 19 Comments
Last week Sandisk released their newest MP3 player, the Sansa Connect. The key to the Sansa Connect is that it’s a WiFi based player, keeping you connected to your music, friends and audio entertainment wherever you go.
When you’re in range of a wireless network, you can download music from Yahoo! Music Unlimited, share your music with friends over Yahoo! Messenger, and tune into Yahoo! Music LAUNCHcast Radio. When you’re no longer connected wirelessly, just switch over to My Library mode and listen to 4GB+ of your music that’s stored on the device.
The Yahoo! Messenger integration on the Sansa Connect is similar to the features in Yahoo! Music Jukebox. When you’re connected to a WiFi network, you can sign into Yahoo! Messenger and give online friends access to your Yahoo! Music playlists. And you can have your Yahoo! Messenger status display the song you’re listening to.
Check out the Yahoo! Music blog to find out more about this new Sandisk player. And here’s a comprehensive review from Gadgetaholic.com. Hopefully we’ll get one here in the Messenger offices soon so I can give the Yahoo! Messenger features a more thorough test drive. Stay tuned!
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
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