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Yahoo Takes On Skype with Messenger 7

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

August 9, 2005, 10:01 AM

Yahoo on Monday officially released version 7 of its popular Yahoo! Messenger that will enables users to both search the Web and make telephone calls without leaving the client. Analysts say the new release is aimed at attracting and retaining a youthful user base for Yahoo's IM network.

A beta release of the new version first debuted in May.

The client has been renamed Yahoo! Messenger with Voice to highlight new focus on PC-to-PC calling. Users will be able to make phone calls between computers, but the initial version will not allow calls to standard landline phones. Skype offers the later functionality for a fee.

Voice has become the watchword of instant messaging and AOL, MSN and Yahoo are continuing to improve their voice capabilities to ensure they stay ahead of popular voice-based messaging clients such as Skype, which counted 100 million downloads as of mid-April.

Also included in Yahoo! Messenger 7 is a feature called LiveWords, where users can highlight IM text and receive search results based on that selection. Such a feature was first introduced by Microsoft as part of MSN Messenger 7 in April of this year.

Users will also be able to display search results in an IM conversation, as well as search directly from the Yahoo messaging client.

The new release is available in 18 localized versions outside of the U.S. and Yahoo says that millions of its users have downloaded and testing the beta version of its client with voice capabilities.

Yahoo! Messenger 7 is available for download via FileForum.

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By scrapemma

edited Jan 15, 2006 - 10:27 AM

i have yahoo messenger with voice, also headphone with microphone. However i can't communicate with or be heard by the person i'm contacting. All the publicity about the system doesnt excludes this possibility. I'm really disappointed. Maybe someone can advise me?

Score: 0

By pdarakji

edited Sep 11, 2005 - 9:07 PM

Yahoo Messenger was working great to talk to my parents (who live overseas). However, since we updated to version 7, we haven't been able to talk at all (the sound, that used to be cristal clear, now is just a mess of unintelligible noise) and I end up having to make long distance calls via regular phone. In my opinion, updating the version was the dummest idea I've ever had. I have told all my friends not to install Yahoo Messenger. Version 7 was the most awful thing that happened to me in terms of internet voice massaging.

Score: 0

By diane-b

edited Aug 24, 2005 - 12:04 PM

I need help. I want to get rid of yahoo messenger with voice, please help me do that please. None of my contacts have it and can't communicate with them. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

Score: 0

By nikki2005

edited Aug 15, 2005 - 11:11 AM

is yahoo going to get rid of messenger because it has too many people using it and start deleting names if not please post this on your website so people can stop sending the rumors that it is

Score: 0

By jeni_bacau

edited Aug 15, 2005 - 2:25 PM

THE BETA IS SUCKS AND HO INVETED IS VERY VERY STUPED

Score: 0

By supermanforever

posted Aug 10, 2005 - 5:39 AM

Still no silent startup like MSN, ICQ. I don't like the main screen show up everytime I start my computer. I have to click 'Close' everytime.

Any idea?

Score: 0

By guillaumeb

posted Aug 10, 2005 - 8:31 AM

hum>>> Messenger>Preferences> Genral...pretty much basic

Score: 0

By supermanforever

posted Aug 10, 2005 - 8:34 PM

Check it out clearly before you post reply. There is not option in General to do that. The "Main Window" still show up everytime when Yahoo Messenger start.

Score: 0

By DJGM

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 10:28 PM

Strange. I've just downloaded this and it says it's v7.0 BETA.

Is v7.0 final actually released, or is it still in beta?

Score: 0

By TheKing75

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 6:18 PM

Well they finally got rid of the User Rooms tab in this version. Looks like it's less hopeful that they'll ever come back now.

Score: 0

By gawd21

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 5:52 PM

I have used Yahoo for so many years, I can't say anything bad about them, however I like Skype and the easy of use. It's is so much easier to sign up people to use Skype than Yahoo.I will keep them both.

Score: 0

By Kramy

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 3:26 PM

Trillian/Gaim all the way!

Score: 0

By GimieGimieGimie

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 3:03 PM

As far as I’m concerned, Yahoo Messenger has always been ahead of the game; v5.0 which was released way back in 2002 had exactly the same features that MSN Messenger v7.0 introduced just a few short months ago.

I think Yahoo Messenger has been and always will be ahead of the game, unfortunately, their image and popularity isn’t no where near as good as Microsoft or AOL which makes their user database limited, and that's exactly why I still use MSN Messenger as my main client and will continue to do so until my friends switch over to another client.

Just to add another note, AIM has always been an awful IM client and i have no idea why so many people use it!

Score: 0

By mynameisdougb

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 10:06 PM

It is the ease of use, and people pretty much got started on the internet using either AOL or Prodigy.

Score: 0

By GimieGimieGimie

edited Aug 10, 2005 - 10:51 AM

I agree 110% with the AOL/Prodigy comment, but ease of use?

No way, i find AIM to be the most complicated IM of the lot.

But this isn't an AIM topic, so i leave it to rest :)

Score: 0

By Adrian79

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 2:42 PM

best messy ever!! I been testing this since may....great work yahoo

Score: 0

By horsecharles

edited Aug 9, 2005 - 12:52 PM

Nothing outstanding about it-- YET.....NOW, if they somehow decided to bundle free unlimited incoming OR outgoing calls from or to regular phones(this is one of the things i suggested AOL do: bundle calling/sms/voicemail/fax into the Messenger)-- then, for a reasonable price a 'pro' version could include BOTH incoming/outgoing PLUS the necessary phone #. Even better, this pro version can be free but ad-supported: in exchange for free i would willingly bend over to take popups & spam up the kazoo, maybe earn minute-credits by taking their surveys/clicking on their links/viewing some multimedia ad webinars/enrolling in some of their offers...
ALSO, with such a large & widespread established user base, they could then forego traditional-pipeline voip(they acquired Dialpad) & instead accomplish this with 'peer-to-peer voip'-- which has a tiny fraction of the costs & their own network bandwidth requirements, but does need beacoup users all over the world.
Basically, the sky's the limit with how they could structure things in order to pay for costs / bring in additional revenue:
maybe hard-code into their portal, instead of to the messenger, the ability to sms & call regular phones for free-- as well there could be an area of the portal to retrieve one's fax/vm/sms 'instead' of in one's inbox or messenger: to drive even more traffic to their portal.

Score: 0

By guillaumeb

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 12:04 PM

This Messenger has always been my fav, admire their smart way to go: no ads but gaining traffic personal technology developped and integrated: Y!Q search extremely useful for the user.
Great Audio, MSN 7.5 beta is behind so far from my experience.

Yup i do

Score: 0

By PaceyPimps

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 11:57 AM

Yahoo search engine is not bad but what makes it suck is there homepage is over bloted. It's not like Google simple fast and easy.

Score: 0

By masterren

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 3:16 PM

Try here: http://search.yahoo.com/

Score: 0

By ServerMechanic

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 10:28 AM

Yahoo! Rox0rs your box0rs.

In all seriousness. Yahoo! is the original search engine madman. They rule.

Go Yahoo!

Do you....uh...........Yahoo! ?

Score: 0

By jpasula

posted Aug 9, 2005 - 10:24 AM

What's the difference between this voice and the previous versions voice? I found that Yahoo voice sucked compared with MSN and Skype. I'd use Yahoo for web-cams, and Skype for voice and it seemed to provide the best solution to both.

Score: 0

By Marcelit0

edited Aug 10, 2005 - 8:38 AM

jpasula, now the quality is almost the same as Skype. Much better than MSN.

Score: 0

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