Yahoo Go Puts Yahoo Services Into Cell Phones, TV & PCs
Yahoo has launched Yahoo Go (link via PaidContent), a suite of products designed to let people reach information whether they're on their PCs, phones or using TV. The suite will be formally announced by Yahoo CEO Terry Semel at CES keynote today
Context & Ripple Effects
Yahoo is taking its services beyond the PC through Yahoo Go, with Terry Semel using a CES keynote to frame phones and television as additional access points. The launch gives Yahoo a single product umbrella for reaching users across those screens.
The announcement’s pickup by WriteWeb indicates that the cross-device portal framing is central to the story, rather than a standalone handset or TV product.
First-order effects
- Yahoo users gain a unified route to Yahoo services on PCs, cell phones and TV, extending Yahoo’s audience touchpoints beyond its core web destination.
- Yahoo’s product teams must adapt the same services to different device interfaces, making cross-screen consistency an immediate execution requirement.
Second-order effects
- Other web portals face pressure to make their services portable across devices rather than treating mobile and television as separate destinations.
- Device makers and mobile operators gain another major web brand seeking distribution, increasing the value of prominent placement and service integration.
Third-order effects
- If portal services become consistent across screens, competition shifts from winning a browser homepage to retaining the user’s account, content and habits across devices.
The trend: Yahoo Go is an early move toward web services organized around persistent access across multiple consumer screens rather than a single PC destination.