Yahoo! Messenger Beta Gets VoIP

By Jeff Hester
May 18, 2005

Yahoo! plans to begin offering a public beta test of the new Yahoo! Messenger this Wednesday as a free download.

One of the key features in this new version is improved PC-to-PC voice communications. Replacing the current "walkie-talkie" style voice chat will be a full-fledged VoIP service similar to Skype, allowing simultaneous speaking with improved sound quality even at dial-up speeds.

To use the enhanced voice system, you'll need a microphone and speakers at a minimum. For best results, you'll want a headset with mic to avoid annoying echoes. In addition to making free PC-to-PC calls, for a fee, you'll be able to place calls to any regular phone number using the third-party Net2Phone service.

In addition to a call history, you'll also get voicemail service (currently an extra being beta-tested with Skype).

"We have had PC-to-PC voice connections via Yahoo Messenger since 1999, and this is chapter two," says Frazier Miller, director of product management at Yahoo's instant messaging group.

More New Features
The new Yahoo Messenger beta also has improved photo sharing, including better image quality, a new interface onto which photos can be dragged and dropped, and the ability to grab photos from anywhere on the hard drive, whereas the existing version only allows the sharing of photos from a Yahoo album, Miller says.

Other types of files, such as Microsoft Word documents, can also be dragged and dropped into a Yahoo Messenger IM window to be transferred to another user.

You'll also have the ability to report spim (instant messaging spam) to Yahoo!, and like MSN Messenger 7, a search feature has been integrated with the chat window.

Yahoo 360
In a move that parallels MSN Messenger 7's integration with MSN Spaces, the Yahoo! Messenger beta will provide similar links to Yahoo!'s fledgling blogging/social network service, Yahoo 360.

This integration allows 360 members to post new blog entries directly from Yahoo! Messenger. You'll be able to identify friends with new blog posts by a special icon in your contact list.

Bottom Line
Yahoo has innovated in many areas in the past, but with this latest version, they're playing catchup with MSN and even AIM. If you're already a diehard Yahoo! Messenger fan and you want better audio chat capabilities, or if you have a Yahoo! 360 account, this beta looks promising. For those not already using Yahoo! Messenger, there is no compelling reason in this version to switch.