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Yahoo Opens Mobile Web Platform

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 January 2008, 07:30 CST

After losing some ground on the PC, beleaguered Internet icon Yahoo Inc. is hoping to outdo Google and other rivals in the mobile phone market.

Yahoo announced Monday that it has opened its mobile platform so that outside programmers can develop new applications for Yahoo pages accessed on mobile devices. Yahoo hopes the mini-applications, known as “widgets,” will attract more users, which will bring the company more money from its advertising.

They also revealed a redesigned home page for mobile phones that includes more content and the ability for users to designate material they want highlighted.

Yahoo also released an upgrade to its “Go” software that is made to facilitate Web surfing on mobile phones and enable Yahoo to show ads with graphics.

Yahoo co-founder, Jerry Yang, discussed the changes during Monday’s address at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). He stated that "We're committed to creating the best and richest mobile experience for all consumers."

Yahoo believes its Go software, which was introduced at CES two years earlier, gave the company an early advantage in the battle to distribute more advertising and Internet services to the 3 billion mobile phone users around the globe.

Yahoo is still playing catch-up to Google Inc. in the hunt to persuade programmers to develop apps for its mobile platform.

Google began encouraging outside programmers two months ago when it announced a long-anticipated mobile software package called "Android" that is expected to hit the market during the second half of this year.

Yahoo believes more programmers will be interested in working on its mobile platform because of the potential to reach billions of users, said Cory Pforzheimer, a spokesman for Yahoo. Google’s Android software is expected to reach a few million phones initially.

Yang also said that Yahoo is planning to add more bells and whistles to its free e-mail service later this year. Yang showed how the e-mail might allow users to highlight incoming mail sent by their closest friends and plant widgets in their mailboxes.

Yahoo is looking for a big comeback with its mobile service as other trendy online sites such as Facebook and MySpace are hurting them. However, Google represents Yahoo’s biggest problem. Google has emerged as the most powerful force in Internet ad marketing. Google pulls in as much money in two months as Yahoo does in an entire year.

Yang has promised to turn up the heat, but results so far haven’t impressed investors. Google’s market value of $203 billion is more than six times the value of Yahoo, as its shares have surged by more than 20 percent, while Yahoo’s stock price has dropped by 18 percent.

Unless Yahoo can climb out of its hole later this year, some analysts believe management will be facing mounting pressure to sell out. Potential buyers include Microsoft and eBay Inc.

Establishing itself as a leader in the mobile advertising market could help Yahoo bounce back. U.S. spending on mobile ads is expected to triple from a projected $1.6 billion this year to $4.8 billion in 2011.

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On the Net:

www.yahoo.com

Source: redOrbit Staff

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