Yahoo is rolling out faster, better-designed and sleeker
email services, all bearing the backing of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who
joined the company July 16 after helping to make email one of the
biggest successes with her former employer, Google.
The new Yahoo Mail services were announced Dec. 11 in a post by Mayer on the Yahoo corporate blog, touting their redesigned interfaces and more intuitive features for mobile and desktop computing platforms from Android to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch to Windows 8.
"Email is the ultimate daily habit," wrote Mayer in the post.
"It's often the first thing we check in the morning and the last thing
before going to bed. Why? Because it's one of the simplest and most
basic forms of communication. And since it's such an important part of
our daily lives, we're making a few improvements to Yahoo Mail."
The changes come in response to user requests and because Yahoo had
to keep up in a changing email world where companies like her former employer, Google, continue to make their free email offerings even better for their users.
In October, Google's Gmail service added capabilities for its users to compose multiple emails
to different people at the same time, which wasn't possible in the past
using Gmail. That limitation was one of the most frustrating things
about using Gmail in the past.
Microsoft has also been busy updating its free email services to take on competitors. In August, Microsoft announced a refresh of its 16-year-old Hotmail services with a new name, Outlook.com, and a streamlined interface, key improvements and the integration of social media connections.
Yahoo's Mail services aren't staying on the sidelines, according to Mayer's post.
"You've told us loud and clear that you want fewer distractions
when it comes to email," wrote Mayer. "You want to quickly log in,
communicate, and get on with your day. And we've listened. Starting
today, the new Yahoo Mail is fast, easy and available anywhere you go.
These improvements will be available on all major platforms: Web,
Windows 8, iPhone/iPod Touch and Android."
The revised mobile iPhone and Android Yahoo Mail apps are
available immediately, but desktop users will see the new features roll
out over the next few days, wrote Mayer.
"We've redesigned the new version of Yahoo Mail with speed in
mind—getting through your emails is faster than ever before," she wrote.
"We've also made your inbox more intuitive and easier to navigate,
allowing you to focus on what matters most: your messages. And, because
mobile is everything these days, Yahoo Mail now has a consistent look
and feel across devices."
Mayer came to Yahoo in July after the company went through an
embarrassing and distracting string of three CEOs who had led the
company since January.
Yahoo was one of the pioneering online businesses
back in the mid-1990s, when it became one of the most popular Websites
and search engines on the then-nascent Internet.
In recent years, Yahoo
has often languished and fallen behind many more nimble, innovative
Internet companies, but it's again trying to push forward with Mayer at
the helm.
Mayer was one of Google's first 20 hires in June 1999
and was the company's first female developer. She went on to lead group
efforts with Google's Gmail and search products for more than 10 years.
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