Yahoo on Tuesday released the next version of its popular instant messaging client, Yahoo Messenger 9.
New features include a "Pingbox" widget that users can put on their social network pages, the first spam control built into an IM client, and enhanced updates that can receive information from more sources, such as Yahoo! Buzz and the company's 360 social network.
The Windows-only software (Mac users have to subsist with version 3.0) also includes new skin choices, and returns the older, smaller emoticons to the product, along with adding six new ones—"thumbs up," "thumbs down," "'It wasn't me!'", "hurry up," "rock on!", and "'Don't want to see!!'". These were the winners in an emoticon contest held by Yahoo over the summer for the public.
Video and photos sent by contacts will now show up right in the chat window, and the contact list now has two views, one larger with more info and images for each contact, and a more compact version. Games are back, and can be initiated through the new IM software, and for subscribers to Yahoo's Phone Out service (1 cent per minute, U.S. and Canada, varying rates for foreign calls), call forwarding to a mobile or landline phone is now available, as is enhanced voice mail, which can be sent to an email address as MP3 attachments.
You can read more details on the official Yahoo! Messenger blog and download and try out the software for yourself at messenger.yahoo.com.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2331066,00.asp
