Yahoo Archive

  • Microsoft prepping Yahoo, AIM, and Windows Live Messenger support for Kin?

    Microsoft prepping Yahoo, AIM, and Windows Live Messenger support for Kin?

    Posted on June 16, 2010 | No Comments
    The list of conspicuously missing features on Microsoft's Kin devices is a lengthy one, but considering the target demographic, there's at least one particularly egregious omission: instant messaging. Well-established ROM spelunker Conflipper is now reporting that Microsoft intends to add IM support in the future, though -- a belief he's presumably gleaned from looking through the latest firmware. Specifically, he mentions support for Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and AIM, a three-pack that would come close to covering the main services most of the Kin-owning world cares about; Google Talk would be nice, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if Microsoft went without -- especially considering that they're starting from zilch.

    Microsoft prepping Yahoo, AIM, and Windows Live Messenger support for Kin? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Nokia and Yahoo announce ‘worldwide strategic alliance’ on email, IM, maps, and more

    Nokia and Yahoo announce ‘worldwide strategic alliance’ on email, IM, maps, and more

    Posted on May 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Carol Bartz and Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEOs of Yahoo! and Nokia, respectively, are on stage right now announcing a "strategic relationship" between the two companies on some of their core services. Nokia will be using Yahoo to power its Ovi email and IM services, while Yahoo will be using Nokia / NAVTEQ's competencies for its mapping and navigation services. Both companies see it as a way to grow their respective userbases, with Yahoo hoping to grab onto the 9 million Ovi users out there, while Nokia hopes that Yahoo could provide it a bit of a USA mojo. Interestingly, Olli-Pekka confronted the US problem head on: "We are an unusual global company in the sense that we are clearly a global leader in our industry, and yet we do not lead in the US." Carol was similarly forthcoming, saying that Yahoo had "lost its focus on maps a couple years ago," then correcting herself, saying that they "chose to focus on other areas." The first merged services should launch in the second half of this year.

    During Q&A the big answer to everything seemed to be "scale," but we also heard Carol toss in "downstream" at an opportune moment. When asked how this relates to Android, iPhone and so forth, Carol clarified that this doesn't change anything they're doing on those fronts. "It's not exclusive from that point." Each service will be branded as "powered by Yahoo" or "powered by Ovi." Yahoo will be announcing some "social-like" services for its mail and IM soon, but it's unclear if that's specifically related to this announcement. Neither company is talking financial specifics, but Olli-Pekka did make it very clear that a Yahoo-branded device wasn't forthcoming.

    Nokia and Yahoo announce 'worldwide strategic alliance' on email, IM, maps, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Nokia and Yahoo announcing partnership Monday?

    Nokia and Yahoo announcing partnership Monday?

    Posted on May 21, 2010 | No Comments
    Whether you call it prescient omniscience or just dumb luck, The Onion's latest lampoon seems to have correctly predicted the Y!phone (pictured above). Or at least something close. We just received our invite to a Yahoo press event on Monday where CEO Carol Bartz will try to wow us with the following:
    "An exciting announcement about providing global consumers with rich online and mobile experiences, and bringing forward a new era in keeping consumers connected."
    Kara Swisher of All Things Digital says that the announcement involves building Yahoo apps and services, including email and search, into a range of Nokia devices. The partnership, dubbed "Project Nike" after the Greek goddess of victory, has apparently been in the works for years. A "Yahoo-centric phone" is not expected to be part of the announcement according to Swisher's sources. For Yahoo's part, partnering with the world's largest maker of cellphones is likely its best chance to compete in the mobile space against Google's booming Android OS. The benefit for Nokia in partnering with an also-ran is less clear though -- guess that's why this is a Yahoo press event and not a Nokia-sponsored one.

    We asked Nokia the dealio but it refused to comment on "market speculation." Hey, we tried.

    Nokia and Yahoo announcing partnership Monday? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Brightcove Comes To Yahoo Connected TVs, But Web Video Is Still Stuck In Widget Hell

    Brightcove Comes To Yahoo Connected TVs, But Web Video Is Still Stuck In Widget Hell

    Posted on January 7, 2010 | No Comments
    If you own an Internet-connected TV that is compatible with Yahoo's TV widgets (AKA, a Yahoo Connected TV), you may soon start seeing video produced for the Web on your TV. Brightcove announced today that media publishers using its online video platform can now distribute their videos through Yahoo's Widget Engine, which powers the widgets on Yahoo-Connected TVs. These TVs are made by Sony, Samsung, Vizio, and LG, which show widgets along the bottom displaying data and content from the Web. These include your Facebook and Twitter streams, stock quotes, the weather, Amazon on-demand videos, and now Web videos powered by Brightcove. A lot of print publications use Brightcove to power video on their Websites, and some of these already have Yahoo Connecetd TV widgets. These include MyRecipes, Cooking Light, Real Simple, Southern Living, Sunset, AllYou and ThisOldHouse. There are a lot of Time Inc. titles in there. TheStreet.com, Wine Spectator, Slate, and The Hollywood Reporter now also have TV widgets through Brightcove. Yahoo also announced a partnership with MIPS Technologies today, which makes processors for Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes. The idea that you need a special TV to watch video content from the Web seems strange. As long as it's a flat-panel TV, why should it matter, right? But these integrations are more about bringing data to TVs from the Web in a friendly format.

    Full Story

  • Yahoo Go Is A No Go

    Yahoo Go Is A No Go

    Posted on November 18, 2009 | No Comments
    Before there was an iPhone, Android and App Store, there was Yahoo! Go. Launched in 2006, Yahoo! Go was an application offered news, mail, weather, traffic, and Yahoo! search from a mobile device. Today, Yahoo is announcing that Yahoo! Go will be shutdown on January 12, 2010. The app seemed to be ahead of it's time when it launched but now is useless thanks to Yahoo creating prettier, more powerful, personal content-focused apps that specialize in products, such as Flickr, Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Messenger. Yahoo released three versions of Yahoo! Go but hasn't released a new version in the past year. The last iteration of the app included a mobile widget platform and was available on select Nokia and Windows Mobile devices

    Full Story

  • Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now

    Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now

    Posted on November 14, 2009 | No Comments

    Filed under: , , ,

    webOS 1.3.1 was always destined to come alongside the launch of the Pixi, but it's surprised us by showing its face a day early. No app catalog bombshells here, but there are a slew of more minor fixes and updates that should make users experience a great deal smoother. Is this the update that finally unlocks access to the GPU and provides the speed boost Pre owners are waiting for / advances the iTunes chess match another step? We'll let you know once our unit reboots, for now here are a few highlights from Palm's list of changes:

    Update: Downloaded, applied and rebooted. iTunes still isn't spotting our Pre as a device to sync with, and at least for the moment there's no great speed increases to speak of, but we have noticed a few more key tweaks that owners are sure to like -- setting a specific ringtone for text messages is exactly what we've been looking for.
    • Yahoo! now appears as a Calendar/Contacts/instant messaging synchronization account.
    • You can forward a text or multimedia message by tapping the message > Forward.
    • A new option is available for restarting the phone: press and hold power > Power > Restart. The prior restart method (Device Info > Reset Options > Restart) is still available.
    • Widescreen videos (including YouTube) now display in widescreen mode on the phone by default, instead of being cropped.
    • If you tap to play a YouTube video embedded on a web page, the YouTube application launches and the video plays in the app.
    • You can select a unique ringtone for new message alerts: Open Messaging > application menu > Preferences & Accounts > Sound > Ringtone.
    • While listening to a song with album art displayed, you can tap the screen below the art to display a playback slider. Dragging the slider jumps forward or backward in the song.

    Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story