I took the plunge… I shelled out the $19.95/yr for access to Yahoo’s advanced email features at the same time that I upgraded (for FREE) to Yahoo’s new Mail Beta version.
I’m glad I did, on both accounts.
Here’s why…
Why Yahoo Mail Plus Is Worth $19.95/yr:
I LOVE being able to check my email from ALL of my many different e-mail accounts in one place… and from any computer!
Plus, I can now send email from any of those accounts as well.
There are lots of little “bonuses” that I enjoy as well, but I primarily did it for the two reasons mentioned above.
One big “plus”:
There’s no more annoying “timed out” issues, where you have to log into Yahoo with your password again and again. Oh, and there are no more ADS!!!
One big “minus”:
There needs to be a way for Yahoo to check all of your e-mail accounts for new mail automatically — say, every 5 minutes or so. They say it’s a standard problem with POP3 email accounts in general — there’s no way to “push” email to you unless you use a standalone program like eprompter. Only, eprompter currently doesn’t work with Yahoo’s latest version: Yahoo mail beta. (For the record, your mail on Yahoo’s primary account is automatically checked every couple of minutes, but this doesn’t apply to any non-Yahoo accounts you’ve set up.)
Here’s a great review of Yahoo’s e-mail plus program.
Why Yahoo’s New Mail Beta Innerface Is Great
Here are a few cool things about Yahoo’s new Mail Beta program (even the FREE version) that I noticed:
- The innerface is much more modern and simple. It’s just like any other windows-based program now… just drag & drop, open things in tabs, etc.
- It’s also got a built-in feed reeder (or aggregator) that’s a cinch to use!
- The calendar ticker at the bottom of the screen is way cool for keeping upcoming appointments & reminders right in front of your eyes.
- You can even “try it” with just a click. Have a look around & experiment with a few things… then switch back to the old way if you don’t like it. It’s just a simple click back to the “old” Yahoo mail.
One thing I wish…
I wish that Yahoo would modernize its Notepad features!
Yahoo Notepad is still dinosaurish in design and functionality. This doesn’t stop me from using it though. I love having ALL of my personal notes and ideas categorized for me and accessible from any computer.
Check out this screencast of Yahoo’s new Mail Beta program.
Here’s a great review and interview with Ethan Diamond of Yahoo.
RELATED:
- Yahoo Mail Tips — how to do anything you could possible ever want to do in Yahoo Mail!
- Why Yahoo’s Homepage Is Great — reasons to make Yahoo your homepage.
- Yahoo vs Google homepages — similarities and differences between their personalized homepage options.