14 DAY TRIAL // Yahoo Messenger is going to add new VoIP capabilities very soon as the parent company has just signed a deal with JAJAH to improve its premium voice service. Until know, the Sunnyvale-based company has been using its own voice technology but, from now on, JAJAH will be the provider of the "Phone In" and "Phone Out" features. Through these two functions, Yahoo Messenger users will be able to start phone calls straight from the instant messaging application at very low prices.
"The seamless integration of web and voice interaction is clearly important to our strategic partner, Yahoo!," said Trevor Healy, JAJAH CEO. "We are honored to be selected by Yahoo! to meet their voice needs. Through this relationship, we have the opportunity to extend our innovative global calling services with an industry leader that can leverage the power of our platform and network."
According to Yahoo, the company's instant messenger has no less than 97 million users but there's no word on how many of them actually pay for the VoIP features the program has to offer. However, JAJAH said it was going to offer "Phone In" and "Phone Out" in more than 200 countries so Yahoo Messenger is likely to boost the number of consumers in the next months.
"This partnership with JAJAH will help Yahoo! continue to provide a great communication experience to our millions of Yahoo! Messenger users," said Sabrina Ellis, vice president of Yahoo! Messenger. "Yahoo! Messenger is one of the first communication tools consumers see and use when they turn on their computers, so it is critical that our partner mirrors our commitment to our users, and JAJAH's reliable VoIP network and proven customer and carrier-friendly experience make it an ideal solution."
For those of you who don't know, JAJAH is based in Mountain View, CA, USA, just like the Yahoo rival, Google. Beside the headquarters, the company also has a development center in Israel and another main office in Luxembourg, according to Wikipedia.