Yahoo has rolled out the beta version of its Mail product to all users, inviting them to switch to the new AJAX interface that acts more like a desktop e-mail client than a web site. The Yahoo! Mail revision adds technologies that the company gained from its purchase of Odd post, such as drag and drop organisation, an instant preview pane, and upgraded search capabilities. The latest version also features integration with the portal's mapping, weather and calendar services, drag and drop e-mail organization, message preview and an integrated RSS reader.
Following is listing of all the improved features in this version:
- Calendar timeline view within e-mail interface
- Ability to view a map of a meeting or event location within the calendar timeline
- A new spam column located next to each message in the inbox to instantly mark a message as spam
- New welcome page and "Quick Start" user guide
- Drag-and-drop message organization
- Reading pane to instantly view messages
- Comprehensive and speedy search of e-mail headers, bodies, and attachments
- Ability to open multiple e-mail messages at the same time and view them using tabbed navigation
- Integrated RSS reader, to receive breaking news, blogs, and other feeds directly in the Web mail experience
- Automatic check and delivery of new mail
- Keyboard shortcuts and right-click menus
- Scroll bar for efficient scrolling all message headers in an inbox or folder
- Address autocomplete
- Available on Firefox (Mac/Windows) and Internet Explorer (Windows only)
Yahoo Mail is built with Ajax, advancement in JavaScript that provide desktop software functionality and performance to browser-based applications.
The beta is now being rolled out to Yahoo! Mail users in the United States, Australia/New Zealand, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, The Philippines, Singapore, Spain, and Taiwan. In addition, Yahoo! has introduced a localized French-language version in Canada, as well as an English-language version in Asia. Earlier this year, the beta was introduced in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Canada and Korea, and with this latest global expansion, the beta is now open and localized for people in 18 markets around the world. Upon creating a new Yahoo! Mail account, or signing in to an existing account, users will have the option to try the new interface, and will be able to toggle between the different versions of Yahoo! Mail.
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