Yahoo! Go! For! Windows! Mobile! Now...

In a bid for dominance in the mobile search space, Yahoo! Go 2.0 is now available for million of Windows Mobile devices including a deal to pre-load it onto HTC smartphones.
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With Microsoft’s ‘Windows Mobile’ Smartphones an undoubted success in a world of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung cell phones, Yahoo! has decided that it’s a market they can’t afford to ignore, and as a result have made their Yahoo! Go 2.0 available for the Windows Mobile platform.
 
While the original version of Yahoo! Go was derided by some as hard to use,Yahoo! Go 2.0 is a much better version that delivers a truly useful mobile search – and more – experience.
Although already available for other brands of cell phone, there are over 175 Windows Mobile smartphones capable of running the new Yahoo! Go 2.0 software, with over 100 models on sale in stores today.
Marco Boerries, the senior vice president of ‘connected life, Yahoo!’, said that “Consumers have been clamoring for us to bring Yahoo! Go 2.0 to Windows Mobile devices since we launched the service less than two months ago. There are millions of mobile phones on the Windows Mobile platform in the market today and consumers with these devices want to use the most advanced, exciting services available. Our innovative Yahoo! Go 2.0 service finally brings the open Internet to the mobile phone and gives consumers the compelling experience they have been looking for."
Microsoft are also naturally excited, with John O’Rourke, a general manager at Microsoft Corp. saying that “Yahoo! Go 2.0 includes an exciting set of features that helps people access their favorite Internet content while mobile. The combination of this application with a Windows Mobile powered device will allow our joint customers to get quick access to the Yahoo! experiences they want -- from news to e-mail to photo sharing -- all from a single, powerful device.”
Of course this begs the question to Microsoft – where is your similar service? After all, Microsoft offer the Windows Live search engine, and should be somewhat ashamed that Yahoo is setting the pace in the mobile search space. Still, Microsoft wouldn’t be where it is today without plenty of hardware and software partners, and with the whole ‘embrace and extend’ policy, we can be sure that a ‘Microsoft Mobile Search + More 1.0’ is on the way.
Yahoo! have also done a deal with major Taiwanese Windows Mobile device manufacturer HTC, who supply smartphones to major cell phone companies worldwide, and who also partly own the Dopod brand which sell HTC devices exclusively. HTC make millions of Windows Mobile devices and this will be very helpful to Yahoo! in getting their search software used by millions of people worldwide. HTC are also racing to be the first company to release a smartphone powered by Windows Mobile 6.0, as most devices are still loaded with the now-older Windows Mobile 5.0 OS.
Peter Chou, CEO of HTC said that “HTC is always seeking new ways to keep people connected to their community of friends and personalized content while mobile. With high resolution displays and breakthrough designs, HTC‘s products are the ideal platform for Yahoo! Go 2.0. We are pleased to offer users the ultimate Yahoo! Go 2.0 experience on our innovative devices.”
So, what are the key features of Yahoo! Go 2.0 for Windows Mobile? Please read onto page 2 to find out!
-- Search reinvented for mobile consumers -- oneSearch(TM) is designed to recognize the intent of a search term and presents relevant content -- not just a list of web links to PC sites -- on the results page. Results are grouped by subject making it easy to read through and drill down to get more details.
 
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-- Be local, no matter where you are -- The Local & Maps widget gives quick access to comprehensive local directory information for businesses across the US, enhanced with ratings and reviews from the millions-strong Yahoo! community. Interactive maps feature the ability to search directly for businesses, get driving directions and real time traffic updates.
 
-- Rich, highly personalizable content from millions of sources -- Current headlines and a breaking news ticker in the News, Sports, Entertainment, Weather and Finance widgets keep consumers connected to the information that matters to them. Consumers can customize to receive content from the millions of sources on the Web that publish in RSS.
-- Photo sharing keeps consumers connected to their community -- The Flickr(TM) widget integrates one of the Web‘s most innovative and prolific photo-sharing communities, making it easy to upload(1) and manage images from their camera phone. Consumers can also easily share photos, view their friends‘ pictures and browse or search the millions of images.
-- Streamlined e-mail keeps consumers in sync -- The E-mail widget allows consumers to quickly respond to, delete or compose new messages or view attachments with a single click -- all automatically synchronized with their Yahoo! Mail account in real time.