Yahoo! beats Google in the race to create an offline email client with the release of Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop.
Besides working offline, the free e-mail software offers extra functionality, such as online word processing, spreadsheets, task management, and file storage. You can use it to access your Gmail and AOL Mail accounts as well.
Up until now, you had to pay $19.99 a year for a Yahoo Pro account in order to access your Yahoo! Mail via POP or IMAP on a desktop mail client software. Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop works on Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems.
"Zimbra is focused on creating communication and collaboration solutions that ease the pain points of traditional e-mail, and switching between multiple e-mail accounts is one of the communication headaches that users encounter on a daily basis," said Satish Dharmaraj, Zimbra's co-founder and a Yahoo vice president. "With Yahoo's Zimbra Desktop, we have taken our world-class collaboration suite and made it available for everyone for use anywhere, anytime, with any email account."
Yahoo! acquired Zimbra for $350 Millions about a year ago.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Offline Email Clients
- Develop offline email clients to provide email access and functionality without requiring an internet connection.
- Integrated Functionality
- Create email software that offers additional features, such as word processing, spreadsheets, and file storage, to provide an all-in-one solution and improve user productivity.
- Free Email Services
- Offer free email services with similar functionality to paid versions to attract and retain users.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Email Services
- Develop new email services with offline capabilities and integrated functionality to provide a unique user experience and gain a competitive advantage.
- Productivity Software
- Integrate email functionality into productivity software to offer a seamless experience and increase user productivity.
- Cloud Storage
- Develop cloud storage services that integrate with email clients to provide users with easy access to their files and improve collaboration.
