Yahoo Releases New Mail Client

Yahoo may not be the internet giant it once was, but over 110 million people still use its mail services — now, that experience has been upgraded with a new Yahoo Mail web client as well as new apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer introduced the changes herself in a blog post. She said that Yahoo's new mail client minimized distracting elements and made speed a key focus, something that should be a major improvement over the somewhat bloated service of old.

The new mail experience should roll out for web users "over the next few days," while the iOS, Android and Windows 8 apps are available now. At first glance, the new iOS app (which is optimized for iPhone and iPod touch only; iPad users are out of luck) shares a lot in common with the recently-updated Gmail iOS app as well as many other smartphone mail apps. For example, the Yahoo mail app uses the now-standard list of folders hiding in a pane on the left side of the screen, much like Sparrow, Gmail, Facebook, and numerous other apps.