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Yahoo! Delivers Phone Out and Phone In Voice Services in the U.S.SUNNYVALE, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- March 22, 2006 -- Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) today introduced in the United States a new public beta of its instant messaging suite, Yahoo!(R) Messenger with Voice (http://messenger.yahoo.com), with enhanced PC-based calling capabilities.(1) With Phone Out, consumers in the U.S. can now make low-cost Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls using their PC to call traditional or mobile phones in more than 180 countries.(2) Calls within the U.S. and to more than 30 countries can be made for two cents a minute or less.(3) Additionally, U.S. consumers can receive calls on their PC from traditional and mobile phones for $2.99 a month or $29.90 a year with the Phone In feature. Phone In gives people a virtual presence in their city of choice, and wherever they travel, their phone number will follow them. The new PC-based calling features were initially introduced to international users in December 2005, and will continue to be rolled out in additional localized versions. The enhanced Yahoo! Messenger with Voice features will also be introduced into Yahoo!'s co-branded Internet access services, including AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, in the coming months. "Yahoo!'s top priority is to provide a stellar communications service through a variety of easy, fun and inexpensive ways to stay connected with others around the world," said Brad Garlinghouse, vice president, Communications Products, Yahoo! Inc. "We look forward to further incorporating voice features into Yahoo!'s global services, from communications to search, to help simplify and improve the Internet experience for our hundreds of millions of users around the world." Staying in Touch is Easy The new PC-based voice calling capabilities join the suite of communications solutions in Yahoo! Messenger with Voice including text instant messaging (IM), PC-to-PC calling, e-mail, mobile text messaging, photo sharing and video. New enhancements to the service include: -- Phone Out: U.S. audiences can easily stay in touch with their friends and family in more than 180 countries across the Europe, Asia and the Americas, with low-cost calling from their PC to traditional phones and mobile phones. Calls within the U.S. and to more than 30 other countries can be made for two U.S. cents a minute or less. Specific calling rates can be found at: http://voice.yahoo.com. -- Phone In: The Phone In service gives U.S. audiences the ability to receive calls on their PC from traditional and mobile phones. For $2.99 a month or $29.90 a year, people can select a personal phone number, and receive incoming calls at no additional charge. For instance, New York residents, who have friends and family in London, are able to choose a local London-based phone number. When remote friends and family make calls to the personal number, they will be charged for placing a local phone call to that phone number. People can choose to have multiple phone numbers, and wherever they travel, their phone numbers will follow them. In the beta service, country-based phone numbers are initially available in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States with additional country-based numbers available in the coming months. -- Free Voicemail: People will now be able to take advantage of a free voicemail service with both their PC-to-PC inbound calls and Phone In calls. If a call is missed, whether from a PC, traditional phone or mobile phone, people can easily retrieve the message at no additional cost. Additionally, Yahoo! Mail now includes useful links to Yahoo! Messenger with Voice, enabling people to easily check their voicemail directly from Yahoo! Mail. -- Contact Search Bar: The new Contact Search Bar provides a fast way to find and quickly connect with friends and family. As people type their friends' names, Yahoo! IDs, phone numbers, nicknames or any other information stored in their contact details, matching results will automatically populate the Contact Search Bar. Choose how to communicate with friends, whether it is through text IM, voice calling, e-mail or mobile text messaging, becomes easier than ever. The new beta of Yahoo! Messenger with voice is currently available in 8 localized versions around the world including: France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore(4), Spain, United States, Yahoo! en Espanol. Committed to providing a high-quality call experience, Yahoo! Messenger with Voice is leveraging Global IP Sound's (GIPS) VoiceEngine Multimedia infrastructure to deliver market-leading PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone voice quality to consumers worldwide. GIPS VoiceEngine Multimedia is a voice and video processing solution that handles all of the complex quality issues that come with IP communications including jitter delay, packet loss and acoustic echo. About Yahoo! Messenger with Voice As one of the most popular instant messaging services on the Internet, Yahoo! Messenger with Voice (http://messenger.yahoo.com) makes it easier than ever for people to express themselves, interact and manage relationships with friends and family. Yahoo! Messenger with Voice has a unique and proven history of innovation in instant messaging as the first to offer Webcam functionality, the first to introduce an interactive and shared experience with IMVironments(R), and the first to introduce animated emoticons. Yahoo! Messenger with Voice continues to the lead the marketplace by integrating with leading Yahoo! services including games, music, photos and search, and providing the greatest choice for consumers to stay connected to one another through text IM, PC-based calling, e-mail, video and mobile text messaging. About Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! seeks to provide online products and services essential to users' lives, and offers a full range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users around the world. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. (C) 2006 Yahoo! Inc., All rights reserved. (1) Yahoo! Voice Phone Out and Phone In services are provided by the following Yahoo! companies: (1) In the United States, Yahoo! Communications USA Inc; (2) In France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Yahoo! Communications Europe Ltd.; (3) In Hong Kong, Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited; and (4) In Singapore, Yahoo! Pte Ltd. (2) PLEASE NOTE: 911 and other emergency service numbers currently cannot be accessed through Yahoo! Messenger with Voice or Yahoo! Voice services. Users must use a traditional phone or mobile phone to access 911 or other emergency service numbers. Internet access and compatible PC required. Yahoo! Voice Phone Out and Phone In services must be purchased separately and require users to download Yahoo! Messenger with Voice version 7.5. (3) Rates in the U.S. only. Check the rate card of the version you are using for specific country rates. Calls to mobile phones or other wireless devices may be charged at higher rates than calls to traditional landline phones. All rates, promotional or otherwise, are subject to change at any time without notice. Call times are billed in one-minute increments. (4) The Phone In service is not available in Singapore. |
