| Yahoo! aims web services at mobile phones |
May 08, 2008
 Yahoo! is beta-testing a new build of its free "Go" application, aimed at letting people access its suite of online services from their Windows Mobile phones. Yahoo! Go 3.0 integrates Yahoo! email, photos, maps, stock quotes, and more, and is extensible via third-party widgets.
(Click here for a larger view of Yahoo! Go 3.0)
Described by Yahoo as its "flagship all-in-one mobile offering," Yahoo! Go 3.0 is a free application intended to connect a mobile device to Yahoo! services, including Address book, Calendar, Entertainment, Finance, Mail, Maps, News, Search, Sports, and Weather. In addition, the application connects to the Yahoo!-owned Flickr photosharing website, allowing photos taken with a device's camera to be uploaded to a Flickr account.
Yahoo! adds that while the Yahoo! Go 3.0 application is free, using it regularly may require an unlimited data plan. This is because information is continually updated in realtime. For example, users can manage their contacts on the device, and changes are immediately synchronized with a Yahoo! account.
Eschewing the rich Java-based client-side processing model of competitor Google's Android stack, Yahoo! Go 3.0 uses a lightweight widget-based architecture based on web standards such as XHTML and CSS, allowing the client to be easily extended by third parties. Currently available widgets allow placing and tracking eBay bids, accessing and posting to Myspace, and getting news from MTV News. Additionally, Yahoo! recently released its Mobile Widgets development kit, so others may be expected to appear. For more details, see our earlier coverage, here.
  
Yahoo! Go 3.0's carousel (left) allows access to widgets (middle, and right)
(Click any to enlarge)
In addition to support for Windows Mobile, the newly released beta sports a "carousel" interface with a background suggesting that data is stored in the "cloud" (above left). It also includes a new start widget (above middle), touted as providing an "at-a-glance update of what's new," including new emails, calendar appointments, and photos posted by friends (above right). The beta also adds improved searching capabilities, Yahoo! says.
The Yahoo! Go 3.0 beta currently only works on Windows Mobile Standard devices, those without touchscreens. Windows Mobile Professional support is planned, but a date for its release was not provided.
For a list of compatible devices, and to download the application, see the company's website, here. A Java-based emulator is also available, allowing users to log onto their accounts and test the Yahoo! Go service from desktop computers. To try it, go here.
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