Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is the mobile client for the popular search engine and email provider. It is a solid, fully-featured messaging app, but it feels somewhat lacking in terms of active users. At least, among the people I know.
Brilliantly Bygone
Upon starting Yahoo! Messenger and entering my old Yahoo! login credentials, I was informed that my account had been locked due to five years of inactivity. This highlighted the issue that would plague my experience with the service – no one I know uses it anymore. While you can now chat with both MSN and Yahoo! users, I only know a handful of people who still use it.
After reactivating my account, I was greeted with outdated spam and... no one. Everyone was offline. What was once a vibrant community now seemed like a collection of empty chat windows.
Usable but Unusable
It's a shame, though, because the Yahoo! Messenger app itself is actually quite good. From the easily navigable menus, you can access and organize your contacts in a variety of useful ways. You can adjust your text's font, style, and size, as well as add attachments. There's also the ability to take photos and videos within the app.
As a mobile version of the online chat client, you can also chat with friends from your browser. This feature works well, with messages delivered quickly (as long as you are logged in on your device). I only found a way to test the app by creating a second account to chat with myself.
Only for Yahoo! Users
For those still within the MSN and Yahoo! communities, everything is in place to enjoy the app. You can even SMS your old contacts to prompt them to log in. However, if you're like me, it's an empty wasteland – a reminder of an old internet life that no longer serves a purpose, as I've since found other alternatives.
