This is a big day for Yahoo! Messenger. I’m happy to announce that we’ve opened up the Yahoo! Messenger platform for developers. This exciting SDK will allow developers to use the Yahoo! Messenger platform to create innovative new applications and services.

We tried to make our SDK as simple to use as possible. We’ve exposed a new REST API for the Yahoo! Messenger platform — the same API that we use with our own products. So we know that it’s rock solid. In fact, all you need is a little knowledge of HTTP and JSON and you’ll be up and running in no time, no matter what programming environment you’re using. The SDK contains all the key Yahoo! Messenger features that you’ve come to expect, including real-time presence, contact-list management, instant messaging, file transfers, and user-image management.

Please make sure you read the documentation that we’ve included. This document provides best practices, guidelines for using the service, Messenger logos (including our beloved Smiley), and test cases to make sure your application is working properly.

Finally, note that we’re rolling out the SDK in most of Asia, as well as India, initially. The reason we chose this region is the dynamic nature of instant messaging in this market. There are some crazy and wonderful things with Yahoo! Messenger coming out of this corner of the world.

For those of you in the rest of the world, don’t worry; we have plans to roll out this program on a larger scale very soon.

Here’s a list of handy links:

• Yahoo! Messenger IM SDK
• Yahoo! Messenger IM SDK Developer Terms of Use
• Yahoo! Messenger IM SDK User Guide

Dudley Wong

Product Manager, Yahoo! Messenger

An update on the Yahoo! Messenger API: This is taking a little longer than we like – We have some last mile details to take care of but we are committed to launching the new Yahoo Messenger API very soon.

Let me say that we are really excited about the response and enthusiasm that we’ve received around the opening of the platform behind our popular Yahoo! Messenger service. The team is working hard to make sure that these new APIs meet your expectations, that they are as simple as possible, and that they contain all the key features you need to develop great applications and services.

For this reason, we’ll be in contact really soon… Gotta get back to work!

Dudley Wong

Product Manager, Yahoo! Messenger

For those of you who haven’t already done so, download the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger and experience high-quality, full screen video and voice calling today!

Sherrine Tan

Yahoo! Messenger Team

Our voice and video services will be unavailable on Wednesday, June 30th between 2:30 to 4:30pm PST, due to network maintenance . This means you will not be able to use Yahoo! Messenger to make or receive voice and video calls during this time.

This is one of the steps towards improving the performance of our services and your continued patience is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sherrine Tan
Yahoo! Messenger Team

The beta launch of Yahoo! Messenger One represents a refreshing approach to all your communications needs.  How so?  Simply put, this all-in-one universal address book and communications hub enables you to find, connect and communicate with friends the way you want, whether it’s email,  instant messaging or SMS – it’s your choice!  What’s more, it’s packed with a slew of user benefits including:

• Mobile registration: You can sign up for a new Yahoo! ID right from within Yahoo! Messenger One app.  No PC/laptop needed. How convenient is that!
• Unified inbox: Now you have all your email, IM and SMS conversations in one easy-to-use-and-access inbox, you can always keep track of all your conversations, hassle free.
• Native address book syncing: Simply upload your contacts to Yahoo! so you can access them from one place, anywhere.
• Message archive and search: With all your conversations stored in the cloud, you will never have to worry about losing your messages or having to delete them ever again.
• IM and SMS chats: You can still chat with you contacts even if they are not on Yahoo! by using SMS (presently supported for Indonesian and US mobile contacts only).
• News Content: Lets you always stay up to date with the latest news, and you can share articles with your friends.

Yahoo! Messenger One will be rolled out first in Indonesia and available in Bahasa Indonesian (the local language).  Indonesia does not require any introduction.  Still, this is the world’s fourth-most populous country with more than 230 million people and about 30 million Internet users.  With its mobile phone customer base having more than doubled to 165 million users in less than three years, and with  popular devices like Blackberry smartphones and low cost clones growing at a fast rate, it is not all that surprising mobile users have outpaced active Internet users by more than 5-to-1.  Clearly this is a nation on the move and we are bringing Yahoo! Messenger One right to the users.

Yahoo! Messenger One is currently available for Blackberry 9000, Blackberry 9700, Blackberry 8900, and Blackberry 9630 devices. Just direct your mobile browser to http://m.yahoo.com/one to download the app and try it out. In future releases, Yahoo! Messenger One is expected to support additional devices and platforms. We’d also love to get your feedback so we can keep innovating and improving the user experience.

Karen Yeo

Yahoo! Messenger Team

This is big news. If you haven’t used Yahoo! Messenger, you’re in for a treat. Yahoo! Messenger is the premier instant messaging (IM) platform, used on a wide variety of desktop and mobile clients. Millions of users throughout the world already depend on Yahoo! Messenger to manage their social contacts, group lists, and presence information; hold real-time instant communications; and perform data transfer to and from contacts throughout the world. All, well — instantly, as its name says.

We’re listening to those developers among you who have been telling us they want to build on that trusted platform. By exposing a new RESTful API for Yahoo! Messenger, we’re allowing you to develop your own innovative programs and tools that make the most of what the Yahoo! IM platform can offer.

Developing for the platform is simple. All you need is a little knowledge of HTTP and JSON, and you’ll be connecting with people across the world in no time, no matter what programming environment you’re using. And from there, just let your imagination run wild with the groundbreaking applications you can create.

We’re very excited about releasing this platform, and we can’t wait for you to get started. Check back into the Yahoo! Developer Network on June 30 for more information.

Dudley Wong
Product Manager

When you send an SMS message from Yahoo! Messenger, replies from your friends come back to you in Messenger, making it a quick and convenient way to chat with your friends when they’re not online. This feature is available in all of our versions – 9.0 for Windows, Messenger for Mac, Yahoo! Messenger for the Web, iPhone and even in the chat features in Yahoo! Mail.

If you’re using Yahoo! Messenger 9.0, it’s as easy as right-clicking on a contact and choosing “Send SMS message…”. If you don’t have a mobile number stored for that contact, you’ll be asked to enter it. You can also send SMS messages to people who aren’t in your contact list or address book. Go to the Actions menu and select “Send an SMS message…” (or hit Ctrl + T on your keyboard). A menu pops up asking you to select the contact you want to SMS. At that point click the “Other contact” tab and type in the mobile number.

In Yahoo! Messenger for the Mac, select a contact in your list, then go to the “Contacts” menu and select “Send SMS…”. You can also right click on a contact to get started. You’ll also notice a “Voice and SMS” button in the IM window. You can click on that to send an SMS. Or to send to a mobile number that’s not in your contact list, go to the File menu and select “New SMS…” (or hit Shift + Command + N on your keyboard).

In Yahoo! Messenger for the Web, you’ll notice an additional group in your contact list named “Mobile Contacts”. This will list all the friends in your address book that have a mobile number. Just click one to get started. If you want to send to mobile number that’s not in your list, just type it into the “Find Contacts” bar near the top and hit Enter on yout keyboard. This will start a new IM window where you can type in and send your SMS message.

When you’re on your iPhone, launch the Yahoo! Messenger for iPhone app and start a conversation with a friend. Then tap the “IM” icon to the left of the text box to change it to “SMS”. Type your message and send. You can also tap the “New Message” icon in the app and in the To: field, type in a mobile phone number to get started. Watch the SMS portion of the iPhone demo video

And finally, you can also send SMS messages from Yahoo! Mail. When you’re signed into the new Yahoo! Mail, click a friend in your “Contacts” list on the left side. This will open a new chat window. In the upper right of that window you’ll notice a series of three icons – one for Mail, one for chat and one for mobile. Click on the mobile icon to convert your chat to an SMS text message instead.

In Yahoo! Mail Classic, you’ll notice a second group in the chat module on the left hand side named “Mobile Contacts”. Open that group to select a contact. Or, click the “New text” link at the bottom of the module to send an SMS message to a mobile number that’s not in your list.

It’s free to send SMS messages from Yahoo! Messenger but note that the friends who receive your messages may be subject to fees depending on their carrier and data plan. SMS message sending is supported by Yahoo! Messenger in the following countries and carriers:

United States: AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile
Canada: Rogers, Fido
India: Vodaphone Essar, Airtel, Spice, Escotel, Reliance
Indonesia: XL, Indosat, Hutch 3, Telkomsel
Malaysia: Celcom, DiGi
Philippines: Globe, Smart
Thailand: AIS, DTAC
Vietnam: Mobifone, Viettel, Vinaphone, S-Fone, HT, EVN

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager