The new version of Yahoo Mail has dropped the beta status it debuted with one year ago and officially launched. The new Yahoo Mail offers a number of new features for users of the web service, like the ability to send text messages to a mobile phone, which is a first from the major web-based e-mail services.
In addition to the SMS, the out-of-beta version of Yahoo Mail features
some much needed keyboard shortcuts (n for new message, c for chat,
etc.). Other changes include support for IM chats with people using
Windows Live Messenger as well as better search options and speed
improvements.
But it's the text messaging feature that's making waves. Under the ???Compose??? option at the top of the Yahoo Mail sidebar there will be a new option to send a message via SMS to numbers in India, Canada, the Philippines and the United States. To use it, just enter a contact???s name, type in the mobile phone number, and then send the message. SMS threads appear in talk bubbles next to your chat avatar in the Yahoo Mail window.
As with large scale upgrades of this sort, Yahoo will be rolling
things out gradually over the next six weeks. So, like me, you may not
see the new features on your account for a little while. And for those that prefer the old Yahoo Mail, the company will continue to offer the ???classic??? version.
So how does the the new Yahoo Mail stack up against Google's Gmail? It depends what you???re looking for, and aside from interface design, the main differences at this point are that Yahoo offers the SMS option and Gmail offers free POP access and e-mail forwarding (Yahoo offers POP and forwarding, but you???ll have to pony up $20 for the privilege). Yahoo Mail also offers unlimited storage for free, while Gmail tops out at around 2.5 GB.
If you???re a heavy SMS user Yahoo Mail is the way to go. If you???re looking to centralize all your e-mail addresses in one spot I???d recommend GMail.
