December 11, 2007 on 8:01 am | In News, Web version | 51 Comments
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…Yahoo! Messenger from 30,000 feet! Today marks the official launch of a customized version of Yahoo! Messenger for JetBlue passengers.
Internet access on commercial flights is a new concept, and JetBlue is the first domestic carrier to test it with their new BetaBlue airplane. Passengers with WiFi-enabled laptops or Blackberry devices on the plane can connect for free to the on-board wireless network. Once connected, they can communicate with friends, family and colleagues on the ground using customized versions of both Yahoo! Messenger for the Web and Yahoo! Mail. Read more about our partnership with JetBlue.
After signing into Yahoo! Messenger you can see which of your Yahoo! or Windows Live Messenger friends are online and send them instant messages. Even if a friend isn’t online, you can use the built in SMS feature to send a text message right to their mobile phone. If they reply back, you get it right in Yahoo! Messenger. The SMS feature is really handy if you need to send news about your flight to a friend or family member (or just gripe about that kid kicking your seat).
We also added a few special status messages that let your friends know you’re flying high with JetBlue. “Head in the clouds – seriously”, “Sleeping on the Plane” and “Ugh! Crying baby on flight” are just a few. Or choose “Custom Message…” and get creative.
So what’s in it for your earth-bound friends while you’re cruising at 30,000 feet? When your status is set to one of the flight-specific messages, your friends will see your airborne status and be able to click on it, taking them to a page where they can view your flight location and status in real-time.
JetBlue’s BetaBlue plane is the first to offer these free services to its passengers. While you can’t specifically request the BetaBlue plane for your next JetBlue journey, be sure to keep your laptop handy the next you fly with them. You might just get a chance to try out Yahoo! Messenger from 30,000 feet in the air.
Chris Szeto
Director of Product, Yahoo! Messenger
Here are some photos of the launch event at SFO (courtesy of Jeremy Johnstone):
View a larger slideshow
November 15, 2007 on 10:00 am | In Web version | 32 Comments
[This was posted briefly a few weeks ago but I decided to pull it and repost now that the My Yahoo! Beta is available to everyone. - SB]
A new Yahoo! Messenger module is available for users of My Yahoo! Beta. If you’re not familiar with My Yahoo!, it’s a Yahoo! service that lets you customize a page with modules of your favorite content from Yahoo! and around the web, including weather, news, movies, music, and more.
The new Yahoo! Messenger module embeds a lightweight Messenger window right into your My Yahoo! Beta page. See which friends are online and send and receive IMs, all without leaving the page. Note that to use this module, you need to be using the latest Beta version of My Yahoo! (http://beta.my.yahoo.com).
The My Yahoo! Beta is available to brand new users of My Yahoo!; existing My Yahoo! users can move over to the new Beta by visiting http://cm.my.yahoo.com/upgrade.
To add the Yahoo! Messenger module to your My Yahoo! Beta page, click the “Personalize this Page” button at the top. Click the “Add Modules” link under Content, and then do a search for Messenger. From the search results, click the “+ Add” button next to Y! Messenger. Then be sure to click the “Sign in” link in the Messenger module to make yourself available (or invisible). You can place the Messenger module in the larger middle section of your page or drag the title bar to place it in the more narrow, right hand column on the page.
The My Yahoo! Beta module is a lite version of Yahoo! Messenger, so it won’t have all the bells and whistles of the full, downloadable version. Things like status messages and emoticons are a little more limited. Access to your contacts and conversations are organized by a simple tab structure on the left hand side. When a new message comes in, the tab flashes and text scrolls in the My Yahoo! taskbar button at the bottom of your screen (handy for when you’re using another window when an IM arrives).
Ready to try it? Click here to add the Messenger module to your My Yahoo! Beta page.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
P.S. – For more info on the My Yahoo! Beta, be sure to check out their blog.
September 24, 2007 on 2:59 pm | In Web version | Add a Comment
This afternoon we released an update to Yahoo! Messenger for the Web. This new release includes:
– Save your thumbs! Now you can send text messages (SMS) to your friends’ mobile phones for free, right from Yahoo! Messenger for the Web. When your friend replies, it comes back to you in Messenger. You’ll notice the contact list is now divided into two areas: regular IM contacts and Mobile Contacts.
SMS is only available when messaging to mobile phones in the U.S., India and Canada. Note that it’s free for you to SMS from Messenger but your friends will incur any applicable data charges from their carrier to receive your messages.
– Brand new, local language versions for Thailand and Indonesia.
– 9 new languages for the Indian version (Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada). After signing in at http://in.webmessenger.yahoo.com, start an IM with a friend and choose the Indian language you want to chat in from a drop-down menu.
If you haven’t already, give Yahoo! Messenger for the Web a try. There’s no download required, making it really handy when you’re at work, on the road or away from your own computer.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
September 4, 2007 on 12:48 pm | In Features, Web version | 15 Comments
Last week, the new Yahoo! Mail officially dropped its Beta moniker. Accompanying the general audience release was a new feature: the ability to send text messages (SMS) to friend’s cell phones, right from your Yahoo! Mail account.
SMS is the latest improvement to the integrated Yahoo! Messenger that’s available in the new Yahoo! Mail. We first told you about it in a February post when it was added to the Mail Beta. But now anyone who has a Yahoo! Mail account can get this new version that includes instant messaging and SMS.
If you’re on the old version of Mail and want to try the new version with these enhanced messaging features, just go to the “Options / Mail Options” menu in your account and look for the link “The new Yahoo! Mail has arrived! Try it now!” Note that the rollout of the new Yahoo! Mail to all users will take a few weeks, so if you don’t have access to it yet, keep checking.
To use the instant messaging and SMS features in Yahoo! Mail, you’ll need to be signed into Messenger within Yahoo! Mail (doing this will sign you out of the full version of Yahoo! Messenger if you’re already using it). To get started, be sure that your status next to your name in Mail says “Available”. If it says “Offline”, just click the status menu arrow to change it.
Once you’re signed in, click a contact you want to message from your “Contacts” list on the left side, then click the email, chat or SMS icon in the upper right corner of the message window:
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For a list of countries and carriers that you can SMS from Yahoo! Mail, go to:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/context/context-13.html
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
July 30, 2007 on 9:11 pm | In Web version | 20 Comments
Back in May, we launched a brand new version of Yahoo! Messenger for the Web. Whether you’re on dial-up, just don’t like downloading, or you’re on the road away from your regular PC or Mac, it makes it fast and easy to IM with your friends from any web browser.
We initially launched the product in a handful of countries, and with this latest release, Yahoo! Messenger for the Web is now available in 18 countries and 9 languages:
Americas
Argentina – Brazil – Canada – Canada (in French) – Yahoo! Telemundo (in Spanish) – Mexico – United States
Asia Pacific
Australia & New Zealand – Hong Kong – India (English) – Korea – Malaysia – Philippines – Singapore – Vietnam
Europe
France – Germany – Italy – Spain – UK & Ireland
Tell a friend! 
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
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