Yahoo Web-ifies its chat application

Yahoo is set to release late Wednesday a new Web-based version of its instant-messaging application that lets people use Yahoo Messenger on any browser and any Internet-connected computer rather than having to download it to a hard drive.

Yahoo Messenger for the Web allows people to check their instant messages and access their buddy list from anywhere, which could prove useful for those who are traveling or are forbidden from downloading client software to their computers at work.

The Web version of the chat application offers functions that the downloaded version does not, such as the ability to search current and archived messages from any computer. It also lets users maintain multiple conversations in one window with different tabs instead of opening up chats in multiple windows.

A Yahoo representative said Yahoo is looking at integrating Web-based instant messaging in games, Yahoo Answers and other forums where people could use real-time communication. Yahoo Messenger for the Web is interoperable with Windows Live Messenger. It is being launched initially in Brazil, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and the United States, and is available in English, Portuguese, Vietnamese and traditional Chinese.

Yahoo rivals Google, Microsoft and AOL already have Web-based versions of their instant-message applications with Gmail, which launched in 2004, MSN Web Messenger and AIM Express, respectively.

[milanes33]

hello

thank you for accepting my account

[sklaw1]

VelvetPuffin is ahead of the curve

A social networking site (www.velvetpuffin.com) is already offering more than what Yahoo Web IM is trying to do. the VelvetPuffin web interface allow ones to IM with other communities, view and post photos, view videos and poll.

also, the same experience is replicated on any java 2.0 mobile phone. check it out!

[Atari05]

Meebo?

Meebo gets my vote for web based IM clients. Sure no photo sharing etc but anymore I feel IM clients have WAY too much bloat on other "features" which I don't want in a simple IM client :|

[hardwyrd]

They've already done this before....

Way back when chat was still relatively new, Yahoo, Excite and others have applet-based chat systems which you can access via the browser. Of course they used Java applets.

Somehow, due to the prevalence of booters and abuse in using the chat system via the YCHAT protocol, Yahoo decided to take down YCHAT and unified everything using the YMSG protocol. Thus, the web-based Yahoo Chat died with it.

This is nothing new really. Unless they will use the YMSG protocol on the web-based chat instead of YCHAT.

Still, the idea is nothing new. meebo has been doing this too, and is doing it quite well.

[wingthom]

YIM via Web works for years

Access to YIM was and still is possible through their wap portal http://wap.yahoo.com (then select Country US and then Messenger) - or jump directly to http://wap.oa.yahoo.com/raw?dp=page&pg=sign_in&src=msgr

If it works through WAP (connected via GSM or GPRS or UMTS whatever) it works in all text based browsers and with all "internet" connections.

Maybe they forgot about this feature or didn't want to promote it - they relied on their "fat" client that could stream advertising etc., the reason why I switched first to meebo and then to the wap version.