New Service Seamlessly Integrates the Internet into Mobile Device
Functionality to Create a New Connected Experience for Consumers
Las Vegas, USA - Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet company, today announced Yahoo! Go Mobile, a new service designed to let consumers take their favorite Internet content and services with them on their mobile devices. Yahoo! Go Mobile will be launching with AT&T and Cingular Wireless in the United States and with Nokia in multiple international markets in the coming months. Yahoo! Go Mobile integrates the power of the Internet into consumers' mobile device experiences by combining real-time connectivity with access to their community, information and content services from across the web.
This new service will be the first time Yahoo! has brought a comprehensive set of the company's industry-leading products and full access to services across the Web into a single mobile application. Yahoo! Go Mobile (http://go.yahoo.com) will also connect the company's familiar communications services to the mobile device's built-in e-mail, messaging, address book and calendar applications, giving consumers one reliable source for the information they find most vital. For example, if a user loses their mobile device, their saved contact information will still be available to them on the web, and easily synched with a new mobile device.
In the United States, Yahoo! will launch Yahoo! Go Mobile with AT&T companies and Cingular Wireless in three markets and with AT&T and Cingular within the traditional AT&T 13-state local service footprint. The companies also plan a co-branded AT&T Yahoo! Go Mobile service designed to allow new and existing AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet subscribers to take their personalized Internet experience with them on their Cingular Wireless mobile device. Following the launch, consumers will be able to purchase the service pre-installed on new Nokia 6682 devices from select Cingular Wireless stores in the Austin, TX, Columbus, OH and Los Angeles markets and through some AT&T sales channels within the company's 13-state ILEC local service areas.
Internationally, Nokia and Yahoo! will launch Yahoo! Go Mobile to consumers in 10 countries across Europe and Asia. Consumers purchasing select Nokia 6630, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681 and Nokia N70 devices will receive Yahoo! Go Mobile pre-installed. Today consumers can download the Yahoo! Go Mobile application directly onto these devices from http://go.yahoo.com.
"Yahoo! Go Mobile is a revolutionary step toward connecting Internet users to their favorite web services on their mobile devices and also making the Internet accessible to millions of consumers around the world who do not have a personal computer," said Marco Boerries, senior vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo!. "By partnering with AT&T, Cingular and Nokia, Yahoo! has created a truly unique opportunity to launch a new service that is unmatched in the market. We have listened to consumers and are excited to give them what they want - a single way to simply connect to all of their information and content while on the go."
"The AT&T Yahoo! Go Mobile service is an energizing example of our broader strategic initiative to extend the AT&T Yahoo! experience beyond the PC and enable our customers to simplif y their lives with access to personalized entertainment content and communications from almost anywhere, with a consistent and familiar look and experience," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer, AT&T Consumer. "This is what we mean when we talk about the 'digital lifestyle' - making it simple for customers to stay connected to their communications and entertainment services whether they're at home, at work or on the road. Consumers want communications that revolve around them, not the other way around."
"We are pleased to offer consumers a means to wirelessly connect to their favorite Yahoo! content and services," said Marc Lefar, chief marketing officer, Cingular Wireless. "Today's announcement is one more example of Cingular's commitment to give our customers easy access to the people, information, and entertainment they really care about. Yahoo! Go Mobile delivers a seamless way for users to not only access their Yahoo! Services, but also gives them the ability to merge and sync this content with their wireless device."
"The Internet has revolutionized the availability of information to people - and now that world of information is on their mobile devices. We are thrilled to see Yahoo! taking full advantage of the capabilities of Nokia smartphones. Together, we are freeing people from their desktops by enabling the use of their favorite Internet communications services - whenever and wherever," said Ilkka Raiskinen, senior vice president of the multimedia business group at Nokia.
The launch of this service is also the first time Yahoo! has offered the ability to register for a new Yahoo! ID directly from a mobile device. Consumers will be able to access the service through the Yahoo! Go icon on their mobile device.
Key features of Yahoo! Go Mobile include:
Yahoo! Messenger
- Send and receive messages, including voice clips, emoticons and Audibles, a first for a mobile device
- Set presence information to show your friends and family when you are available to chat, and view presence information to know when they are online too
- Take and send pictures in an active conversation via camera phone integration
Yahoo! Mail
- Easily manage messages through the device's messaging inbox
- Receive real-time notification of new e-mails
- Store new messages locally on the device to allow for offline access
Yahoo! Search (local, web and image)
- Find information about local businesses from restaurants to dry cleaners across the United States including business name, address, phone number, ratings and a full-color map with driving directions
- Quickly access full Internet search, including popular search shortcuts such as wi-fi hotspot finder, weather, stock quotes, movie listings, sports scores, dictionary definitions and calculator
- Search for and view more than 1.6 billion images
Yahoo! Photos
- Automatically upload photos to a Yahoo! Photos account
- View and manage all albums saved in Yahoo! Photos
- Easy download of photos from albums directly to the mobile device
Yahoo! Address Book
- Enter and manage contact details in a single connected address book that merges Yahoo! and device address books to help prevent loss of contact information
- Access, edit or delete existing contacts or create new contacts
Yahoo! Calendar
- Manage calendar events through a single connected calendar which merges the Yahoo! and device built-in calendar and to-do lists
- View, edit or change existing events or add new appointments
Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance and Games
- Access the latest news, sports scores, stock tickers, financial updates and more through a direct connection to Yahoo!'s Mobile Portal
- Find and play the latest mobile games
Yahoo! Go Mobile is part of a new suite of innovative applications designed to extend the reach of Yahoo!'s services beyond the browser. Yahoo! Go services gives consumers new ways to quickly access their personalized Yahoo! services whenever and wherever they want. (Editors: See separate news release.)
The former SBC Communications Inc., now AT&T Inc., and Yahoo! announced their strategic alliance in November 2001 and have since extended their industry-leading alliance to provide co-branded services to consumers through a PC, home television and audio systems, Cingular Wireless devices, SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi and SBC Home Networking equipment.
Cingular and Yahoo! have worked closely together over the years to enhance the wireless experience for consumers wanting to interact with their Yahoo! community while on the go. Today the companies offer a range of Yahoo! services to consumers through Cingular's MEdia Net service, including e-mail, mapping, games, news, and weather.
Nokia and Yahoo! announced their collaboration in 2005. As a result, millions of Nokia smartphone users are now able to stay informed, entertained and in touch through Yahoo!'s rapidly developing Internet services. The optimum user experience in Internet communications is enabled through the rich multimedia content, stylish design and high connection speeds of Nokia's multimedia devices.
Yahoo! is focused on extending key consumer services beyond the browser, providing an integrated web-to-Mobile experience and helping consumers make the most of their mobile devices. Yahoo! launched its first mobile service in 1999 and continues to improve and innovate on its offerings for mobile consumers and work closely with the major mobile carriers and device manufacturers to deliver these services to the widest possible audience.
