New Yahoo Mail Has Integrated Free Text Messaging

It’s almost enough to get me to try Yahoo Mail again. Yahoo has announced a new Mail with integrated text messaging:

[ from Introducing The All New Yahoo Mail by John Kremer]

[…]

With the new Yahoo! Mail, people can send and receive free text messages in their email to and from any mobile phone number in participating markets including the US, Canada, India and the Philippines.

It’s sure to come in handy for people like me who want to keep in touch with text-crazy friends and family. From my Yahoo! Mail window (and using my comfortably full-sized keyboard), I can type a note to my son, letting him know I’m on my way to his soccer practice, and send it straight to his phone. And he can send a text message right back to my email, letting me know where to meet him. The intuitive, chat-like interface makes it super easy, even if you’re a novice at text messaging.

They’ve built this using the same design ideas as their integrated chat in email.

I have long wondered why Google hasn’t done this: maybe this will incent them to do so. Yahoo is being fairly generous, footing the bill for the texting.

They have also continued their partnership with Microsoft, since Yahoo Mail supports integrated chat with logged on users of Mail, Yahoo Messenger or Microsoft Live Messenger. I wish Google and AOL would really partner around IM, mail, and so on.