Updated 5-20-01:

OK, if you read my updated MSN Messenger Epinion (http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-1B96-3704216D-3A26E516-prod3) then you know why I'm here updating this now. I'm still determined to make a free short call to an informational line without having to disconnect from the internet. So I ditch the MSN Messenger and open up my Yahoo Messenger. Why am I not surprised when I still cannot accomplish this simple mission? grrrr!

The message under the Call Center says, "Attention: PC-to-Phone calling is no longer available in this version of Yahoo! Messenger. To place U.S. and international PC-to-Phone calls at low rates, please download our new beta version."

Fine. So I trek on over to the beta download site (http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/download/beta/index.html). But before I proceed with the download, my question was, "So is U.S. calling not free anymore or what?"

The answer was surprisingly difficult to find. If you ask me, it looks like Yahoo was trying to hide the answer. They embedded the U.S. rates (with U.S. just spelled "Us" instead of something visible like "United States" at least!) in a long table of international rates and the answer still a little fishy.

7:00:00 AM-7:00:00 PM Rate US $0.00/min
7:00:00 PM-7:00:00 AM Rate US $0.00/min

OK, so it's free, right? Then ... why the heck did they have to split it up like that??? What are those sneaky people plotting?

OK, so I'm biting. I'm downloading the thing right now. Well, had to go back to the original page, because the links from the rate table are to the non-beta version, and I don't want that ... sloppy sloppy sloppy. Call me picky, but a site like Yahoo's should be a little more attentive to detail. Turns out it's a 2.07 MB download that'll take about 6 minutes on my pokey 56K modem.

They don't seem to be very proud to promote this new and improved function of international calls. They write the least promotional text on the subject, instead spending more energy typing out stuff for their "Recent History / Message Archive", "Nicknames", and "Send your Contact Information" features. They must be reading my mind, either that or reading my Epinions. Copying all the others I guess is the way to go to keep up with the competition.

Alright ... setup of the beta version is easy enough ... going through all the audio setup tests ... okay ready to go! Dial!

My hopes are dashed. Dialogue box pops up called "Get Yahoo! Phone Card". It says, "This call has the low per minute rate* of US $0.02. You need a Yahoo! Phone Card account to pay for this call. Click on "Buy Phone Card" to open and add money to an account. *Rate doesn't include any ISP connect-time charges you may incur." And just like MSN, my destiny shall lead me to "Buy Phone Card" or "Cancel" (aka "Ha ha, nice try"). The time is 3:26pm PST. Why is it not free like it said in that stupid long table?

As I said on my MSN Messenger review, I wouldn't mind paying if the quality of the call was comparable to that of a phone call. But this is a PC-to-Phone call, where the quality is still nowhere near that of a regular phone call. I don't doubt that it eventually will get that good. But at this time, it's not that good, not even close.

Alright, that's it. I'm getting offline to make the stupid call. Later.

---------------original Epinion below-----------

I had originally been a hardcore MSN Messenger user for its PC-to-Phone functionality with exceptional clarity. However, because of its new limitations (see my review on MSN Messenger, newly updated to reflect the changes in service) I have had to look elsewhere. I see there are some other programs that Epinionites have rated for PC-to-Phone use, I will be sure to check them out as well.

Yahoo Messenger didn't disappoint me. And upon downloading the newest version, there have been many an improvement since I used it last (oh, over a year ago perhaps). It still retains its e-mail alert feature, which is really handy so that you don't have to keep logging into the website or get on your POP3 e-mail client constantly awaiting new messages. It also still offers the one-click access to the Yahoo Mail website after an alert.

The new Yahoo Messenger features some cute smileys/emoticons (I'm not sure who came up with these things, but they sure are cute and fun to use!) that you can insert in your messages easily with a couple of mouse clicks. Not as many emoticons as MSN Messenger, but with MSN, you have to know the code to create the emoticon or else look it up on the help page. With Yahoo, you click the emoticon into the chat, and it shows you the keystrokes to do it, so next time, if you so feel inclined, you can reproduce the emoticon using the keyboard.

And now of course, the main reason why I have started using Yahoo Messenger again. The PC-to-Phone function. You can call anywhere in the US for free for an unlimited amount of time. It is powered by net2phone. You can access a personalized Yahoo Addressbook (on the web) if you make lots of calls to many different people. For me, I don't make that many long distance calls to that many different people, so the "Recent Call" button works really well. It's like a redial button but you can pick from the last however many calls it stores.

The clarity of my voice, says my boyfriend (the brunt of my calls), is very clear. I hear his voice just fine as well. I do occasionally hear my echo in the background, but it is quite faint compared to what I've experienced with Dialpad. If I am doing anything else on the computer the call will be choppy ... but this is to be expected. At least it doesn't cut me off because of some time limit (see my MSN Messenger rant, heh).

Ads: there's only one cycling banner ad on the dialer and one pop-up ad from net2phone upon dialing a phone number. Also, the dialer is not "Always on Top". It can't be minimized, and no part of it can be moved off the screen, but it can go behind other things you're working on. Which is nice. The MSN Messenger dialer was an "Always on Top" application.

OK. Now the cons. As I indicated above, no, there is no message storage like ICQ does, so if your computer crashes intermittently, you will miss messages. And if you forget to save a chat that contained phone numbers or other important info, too bad. And, one thing that MSN Messenger has ups on Yahoo Messenger is its "other side is typing" indicator. With Yahoo Messenger, you don't know if your friend on the opposite end is taking their sweet time picking their nose or is in the midst of typing a reply and is just a little lagged.

I have yet to try the Yahoo Messenger file transfer function, as soon as my stupid ISP (Winfire ... look for an up-and-coming review of it) unblocks my ports. So stay tuned for updates.



Recommended: No