Yahoo ready to deliver on promise to upgrade email

Advertisement
By Associated Press | Updated: 15 June 2012 14:45 IST
Highlights
  • Yahoo Inc. is upgrading its e-mail service to make it more appealing to people addicted to social networking sites
Yahoo ready to deliver on promise to upgrade email
Yahoo Inc. is giving its popular email service a long-promised facelift in an attempt to make it more appealing to people who are increasingly using Facebook, Twitter, Google and other online alternatives to communicate.

The changes announced Tuesday build upon a redesigned email format that Yahoo began testing seven months ago. The estimated 277 million users of Yahoo's free email service will be switched to the new version during the next few weeks.

The overhaul will enable updates to Facebook and Twitter accounts to be posted from within Yahoo's email boxes. The revamped service is supposed to be two times faster and capable of sending attachments of up to 100 megabytes. Other tools include better junk-mail controls and the ability to chat with friends and family logged into Facebook.

Yahoo is counting on the changes to help attract and retain email users at a time when more people are flocking to the rival Gmail service run by Internet search leader Google Inc.

Although Yahoo's service remains larger than Gmail, it has been losing ground in the past year. Through April, Yahoo boasted 277 million email users worldwide, a drop of about 3 million, or 1 percent, from the same time last year, according to the research firm comScore Inc. Meanwhile, Gmail had grown to 220 million wordwide users, up 43 million, or 24 percent during the past year.

Most of Gmail's gains appear to be coming at the expense of Microsoft Corp.'s Hotmail service, which remained the global leader with 327 million users, according to comScore. But that figure was down 27 million, or 8 percent, from last year.

Cultivating loyal email users is important because they tend to be frequent visitors and they often remain logged in when using other online services run by the email providers. The return trips and logged-in activity creates more opportunities to show Internet ads, the main way that both Yahoo and Google make money.

Yahoo, though, hasn't been luring as many advertisers as Google for years, a problem that has weighed on Yahoo's stock.

The email upgrade is expected to be among the signs of progress that Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz emphasizes Wednesday when she and other top company executives are scheduled to update analysts on their turnaround plan.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Launching Today: All You Need to Know
  2. Meta's Next-Gen Smart Glasses May Have a Wristband, Built-in Mini Game
  3. Vivo X200 FE Tipped to Launch in India on This Date
  4. Runway Is Bringing an AI-Powered Gaming Experience for Users
  5. Alienware Area-51, Aurora Desktops Refreshed in India: Price, Features
  6. Lumio Arc 5, Arc 7 Projectors to Launch in India on July 7
  1. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Launching Today: Know Price, Expected Features and Specifications
  2. Virginia Tech Engineers Craft Durable, Self‑Repairing, and Recyclable PCBs
  3. Newly Detected Seaborgium-257 Offers Critical Data on Fission and Quantum Shell Effects
  4. NASA CODEX Telescope on ISS Reveals Hidden Secrets of the Sun’s Corona
  5. Rocket Lab Sets Record with 'Symphony in the Stars' Launch for Confidential Client
  6. FireSat Protoflight Satellite to Scan Earth Every 20 Minutes for Early Wildfire Detection
  7. Blue Origin Sends 750th Human to Space in Landmark Suborbital Flight from Texas
  8. My Oxford Year OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch it American Romance Drama Online?
  9. Moonwalk OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Malayalam Musical Drama Online?
  10. Maa OTT Release Date Reportedly Revealed: When and Where to Watch Kajol Starrer Movie Online After Theatrical Run?
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.