Yahoo launches Windows Mobile service

Yahoo has launched a version of its communications software for Windows Mobile smartphones.

Go for Mobile, a bundle of services including IM, email, photo, contacts and calendar, synchronises user content with online services and delivers commercial content in a form that fits small handheld screens.

Although most of the services can already be accessed through a Web browser, Go for Mobile streamlines them further for mobile devices.

The package, which was first launched in January, is currently pre-loaded on some Symbian Series 60 smartphones or can be downloaded from Yahoo. In the US, it is apparently only bundled on one particular Nokia phone from Cingular Wireless, according to a Dow Jones report.

Windows Mobile has a smaller market share than the Symbian Series 60, but the move does expand Yahoo's reach as six million Windows Mobile devices were shipped last year. The Windows Mobile software can already be downloaded from Yahoo's site, and Yahoo hopes to get it pre-loaded on Motorola's Windows Mobile phones like the popular Q, Yahoo spokeswoman Nicole Leverich told Dow Jones.