REVIEW: Yahoo Go for Mobile goes simply, easily

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t in the mobile content industry. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
Application: Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0
Running on: BlackBerry 8800 and AT&T Mobility’s EDGE network
Yay: A broad array of mobile offerings under a single downloadable application, the latest version of Go for Mobile offers relevant, personalized content and an impressive, made-for-mobile search engine. And it’s free.
Nay: The offering is only supported by a fairly small number of handsets (mostly smartphones), and the application initially failed to determine our location via GPS. And it would help if Go for Mobile received more regular content updates while the app wasn’t in use.
We say: If you Yahoo-even just a little-you’ll dig Go for Mobile 2.0.
I don’t have much allegiance when it comes to the traditional Internet. I use Google for most searches, turn to CNN or The New York Times for news, and I like Yahoo’s map-based system to find local bars and restaurants.
But when it comes to the wireless Web, I may have found a steady date.
Designed as a one-stop shop for mobile users, Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 can be downloaded from the company’s wireless Web site (m.yahoo.com) or via a PC. Users can type in their phone number into Yahoo’s Web page to receive a text message with a link to the Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 download.
The app’s user interface is clean and easy to navigate. A “carousel” of nine widgets sits at the bottom of the screen, allowing users to scroll through news, sports, entertainment and weather options. Yahoo fans can also monitor their stock portfolios and check e-mail, and a Yahoo-branded icon includes several offerings including oneSearch, the company’s made-for-mobile search engine. OneSearch delivers grouped results based on categories: a search for seafood resulted in a short list of nearby restaurants as well as recent seafood-related news and Flickr photos full of fish. Clicking on any of the categories delivered more results and more detailed listings.
But where Go for Mobile shines is in its customizable offerings. The app integrates heavily with Yahoo’s traditional site, allowing users to track their favorite teams, news topics or stock portfolios based on their PC profile. Yahoo services such as calendar, contacts and e-mail are easily accessible (and easily synchronizable), and oneSearch remembers recent searches and delivers the most relevant results based on past usage. And Flickr fans can take a peek at their pictures, share images with others and explore the service on their handsets.
Go for Mobile’s mapping service was impressive, overlaying local businesses on a simple map background, but the application initially struggled to find us via GPS. After several tries, though, our handset was pinpointed, making nearby businesses much easier to find.
And while the application claims to receive “continuously pushed” content, we found the update deliveries to be irregular. We often had to scroll through menu options and wait a minute or two while the application pinged the server to receive the latest news and scores. Of course, our handset runs on AT&T Mobility’s slower EDGE network, exacerbating the problem.
Overall, though, Go for Mobile offered easy access to much of the content we wanted to access on the go. Even users who don’t Yahoo will find things to like about the application, if only because it simplifies the all-too-confusing wireless Web. For hardcore users, Go for Mobile 2.0 is a must-have.