Yahoo Messenger with Voice

CNET editors' take

• Reviewed by:
  Elsa Wenzel
• Edited by:
  Robert Vamosi
• Reviewed on: 08/12/2005

Yahoo now calls version 7.0 of its instant-messaging tool Yahoo Messenger with Voice, playing up this app's ability to double as a Net-based phone service. Yahoo's tool is the second most popular instant messenger behind AIM, whose VoIP-enhanced update remains in a beta test version code-named Triton. No longer are instant messenger programs just for text chat; a host of vendors are building phone capabilities into their IM clients. Yahoo recommends that you reserve 21.3MB on your hard drive to download this program, which has an installation time of 1 minute via broadband but up to 49 minutes if you're dialing up on a 56Kbps modem.

Punch the Call button in the upper-left corner of the Messenger window to start a VoIP phone conversation with a buddy.

Upside: Yahoo Messenger with Voice looks and feels the same as Yahoo Messenger 6.0. The biggest enhancement is the VoIP capability, which lets you speak clearly with other users of the program. Like its rivals, Yahoo Messenger with Voice lets users make voice calls via a computer microphone and speakers, but it's the only messenger service with free voicemail. In our informal tests, we found the sound quality to be as good as or better than a telephone landline. Just hook up a headset and mic to your computer and hit the Call button in Messenger's chat window. Without having to hunt for instructions, we dragged and dropped our latest snapshots into the program to show them off to a friend. Yahoo Messenger with Voice introduces the LiveWords feature, where you can conduct Web searches by highlighting text within your chat and rolling over a magnifying glass icon. If you or your friends use Yahoo 360 blogs, you can now check updates from Messenger's main window. Yahoo Messenger with Voice also detects and blocks more IM spam, or spim.

Through the LiveWords feature, you can highlight and search for text within your chat and view the top three Yahoo search results.

Compare prices for Yahoo Messenger with Voice

Visit the developer's Web site for a free download.

Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 13 reviews
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• Showing 3 of 13 user reviews

• 5.0 stars

  "perfect IM"

  by rahul_cse_it on September 21, 2008

• 4.5 stars

  "Great VOIP"

  by netdog00 on August 26, 2006

• 3.5 stars

  "Good voip, can be better"

  by edwynfoo on December 15, 2005

• See all 13 user reviews Write review