Yahoo Mail (Summer 2012)

By Michael Muchmore

Since our last full review of Yahoo Mail over a year ago, the service has not undergone a major redesign, but incremental enhancements have been landing in the leading webmail in the U.S. in the interim. Just this summer, a new Photos app and support for DMARC (an anti-fraud email protection) have been added. Other notable updates since our last look include a new calendar, new themes, second sign-in verification, and an iPad app. With the arrival of Marissa Mayer, Google's former head of user experience, we can certainly expect even bigger changes in the offing. But for now, let's see how this veteran webmail service stacks up against comparative newcomers like Outlook.com, Google Gmail, and other longtime services like Aol Mail.

Yahoo Mail remains the most widely used webmail service in the U.S. Hotmail takes the prize worldwide, but Gmail is making significant inroads. According to the latest numbers from comScore, Yahoo has 86 million U.S. users, compared with 70 million for Gmail, 42 million for Hotmail, and 23 million for Aol Mail. The current version of Yahoo Mail is faster, easier to use, and safer than any of its predecessors. But it's still not as fast as our Editors' Choice Outlook.com or Gmail, and it trails both in spam blocking. So, with two such formidable opponents, can Yahoo hold its own?

Signup and Setup
Signing up for a Yahoo e-mail account isn't arduous. It involves entering a name, gender, birthdate, country and postal code. Then you choose a password, whether you want an @yahoo, @ymail, or @rocketmail address. At first launch, you're invited to subscribe to friends' updates, get birthday reminders, and designate their mails for placement on the welcome page you see whenever you log in. You can now log in with your Facebook or Google credentials, too, thanks to Yahoo's OpenID support.

Interface
Yahoo Mail's interface is pleasing enough, though it's falling behind in terms of the modern simplicity you see in the brand new Outlook.com, Gmail, or even the recently redesigned Aol Mail. Another downside to Yahoo Mail is that you have to pay for a $19.99-a-year Plus account to remove the display ads or to use your account through a POP e-mail app?that's free with Aol Mail, Gmail and Outlook.com.

Once you're logged in, you see Yahoo's What's New page, which shows unread e-mail from your designated contacts along with headlines from Yahoo news. Aol Mail also starts with a welcome page of current events, while Outlook.com and Gmail take you straight to your inbox. After all, if you opened your webmail page, you want to see your mail, not the news, right?

The use of tabs atop Yahoo mail's inbox is a differentiator that I like: Anything you do?read, reply, search?opens a new tab. This way you can conduct simultaneous email activities without having to open multiple browser windows. A conspicuous Show Preview button lets you display the beginning of the highlighted message in the bottom half of the central inbox area. I also like this Outlook-style interface, which (of course) Outlook.com can match, but Gmail can't.

Themes
You can theme up the Mail interface if you want, and the gallery of header images and color sets has been expanded far beyond the dozen offered by the beta to over 50 choices. They're well designed, and the large selection means there's at least one to suit any taste. By comparison, Outlook.com offers simple solid color themes, while Gmail lets you go to town, even using your own photo as the background image.

Yahoo's search box is large and prominently placed, though to some it may look like Web search rather than mail inbox search. The Search Mail button is probably prominent enough to clear that up. You can also use the filter options along the left rail to narrow your results by sender, attachment file type, folder, read or unread status, or flagged/unflagged.

Yahoo Mail has long trailed Gmail in speed, and Yahoo reps stressed that the Web mail app is twice as fast as its predecessor. I do notice a welcome acceleration from the previous version, especially when opening emails. But for fast inbox access, Gmail and the new Outlook.com have it beat. While Gmail and Outlook.com immediately update the inbox as soon as a new message arrives, Yahoo and AOL wait a few minutes before the mail shows up.

Yahoo's mailbox lacks a conversation view like that of Gmail and Outlook.com, but opinions are mixed on the benefits of this, anyhow. It has devoted fans, but many users find it perplexing and counterintuitive, judging from Web forum posts. Stick with Gmail if collapsing a long e-mail exchange into a single entry that reappears at the top of your inbox when a new message is added appeals to you. Personally, I find the standard inbox clearer. Outlook.com also offers a conversation view that's more visually clear than Gmail's.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/t4725R7VvmA/0,2817,2380293,00.asp

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