CES 2008: Yahoo Go 3.0 gets widgety for mobile with eBay, MySpace…
We’ve written about Yahoo’s Go for Mobile application numerous times since it first launched, but today sees an all-new version unveiled at CES. Go 3.0, as it’s called, is in “early beta”, so it’s basically a chance to see how it’ll evolve in the coming months, although US mobile users can download it now.
So, what’s new? Well, the interface has been sexed up, with a choice of two ways to use the application – the existing carousel system, or a new icon-based layout. I thought the carousel approach was supposed to be better than stuffy old icons, but it seems user feedback told Yahoo that people weren’t so keen.
Yahoo Go 3.0 also has a new Home widget, which aims to collect all your new data and information on one screen. For example, new emails, current calendar appointments, and new Flickr photos uploaded by your friends. You can also customise news and weather feeds to appear on the Home widget, which also features Yahoo’s oneSearch mobile search service.
There’s more widgets on the way though, from companies other than Yahoo. Later this week, the likes of eBay, MySpace and MTV will launch Go 3.0 widgets, which will be gathered in a dedicated Widget Gallery accessed through the application. Yahoo is opening its mobile app up to third-party developers, in short – a sensible move that’s worth a rousing cheer.
Also new to Go 3.0 is advertising, with display ads. I’m going to try to get hands on with the app, to see how unobtrusive / intrusive this is. Hopefully they’ve managed to err towards the former. The ads will let you do stuff like clicking to call an advertiser directly from your phone. Anyway, check the link below to see if you can download it, and let us know what you think.
Yahoo Go website
CES 2008 Special
Read all our coverage from the show in our CES 2008 category.
