Yahoo cleaning house, kills a bunch of mobile apps
The online giant says Yahoo Meme, Yahoo Mim, and Yahoo Deals, among several other apps, have been discontinued.
Online giant Yahoo has killed a host of mobile applications.
The company said on Friday that it has discontinued Yahoo Meme for the iPhone and iPad, Yahoo News for Android, and Yahoo Finance for RIM's BlackBerry operating system, among others. The company said that its decision was a response to the rapidly changing mobile market, and the fact that some of its applications just weren't cutting it.
"Our plan is to keep moving, to keep innovating, and to continuously measure and scrutinize what's working and what isn't--so we can make room for great new products," the company wrote in a blog post on Friday. "In that spirit, today we're decommissioning several of our current mobile apps."
Yahoo doesn't plan to turn its back on mobile applications, though. The company said that this year, it will have a "mobile first" mindset, and plans to launch several new applications, "such as companion experiences for TV like IntoNow, new ways to experience personalized media like Livestand, and some of our most popular and useful mobile apps like Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, Sportacular, and Flickr."
Yahoo has been going through a difficult period over the past several months. Since firing its then-CEO Carol Bartz in September, the company's board has been fielding buyout and investment bids from a host of companies. Earlier this month, Yahoo finally hired new CEO Scott Thompson. Now, it's believed Yahoo is trying to unload its Asian assets to raise cash and turn away would-be investors.
Whether Thompson was behind the decision to discontinue Yahoo's apps or if the move was put into motion before he became CEO is unknown. However, after being hired, he did say that appealing to mobile users will be a key ingredient in his plans for Yahoo's future.
"Mobile is a wave that is bigger than people even imagine it to be," Thompson said earlier this month. "How people interact online has changed. Devices take all shapes and sizes. You'd better have a great experience on any device the customer has."
Here's the full list of applications Yahoo has discontinued:
- Yahoo! Meme (iPad and iPhone)
- Yahoo! Mim (iPad)
- Yahoo! Answers (Android)
- Yahoo! AppSpot (Android and iPhone)
- Yahoo! Deals (iPhone)
- Yahoo! Finance (BlackBerry)
- Yahoo! Movies (Android)
- Yahoo! News (Android)
- Yahoo! Shopping (iPhone)
- Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search (iPad and iPhone)