The portal company goes on a shopping spree and picks up a couple of technology companies.
With a couple of new acquisitions, Yahoo has augmented its existing voice service within its instant messenger client and added a blog update service to its servers.
The purchase of Internet telephony provider Dialpad will let Yahoo move its voice option in Yahoo Messenger beyond PC to PC calling. Over the next few months, Yahoo users will be able to place calls to any phone, as well as receive calls via the messaging client.
That move comes in response to AOL’s plans to integrate VoIP with its AIM messaging client. Also, Yahoo will be competing with existing VoIP providers like Skype.
The five-year old Dialpad will still offer its calling services to the public, but has discontinued its calling card service. Also the company has taken down its online store and will no longer sell hardware and accessories.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Yahoo also purchased syndication pinging service “blo.gs”. Like weblogs.com and blogrolling.com, blo.gs tracks changes to blogs and alerts subscribers via the web and e-mail.
Blo.gs developer Jim Winstead announced the deal in a post online. “yahoo! obviously has the resources to run and improve blo.gs in pace with the incredible growth of blogs,” said Mr. Winstead.
The pinging services like blo.gs allow bloggers to have their content updates noted by users as they happen. With this purchase, Yahoo will be able to stay up to date on feeds being read on My Yahoo, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Mobile, according to Scott Gatz, Yahoo senior director of personalization products.
According to eWeek, blo.gs will remain open to the blogging industry at large. Yahoo developers will contribute updates to blo.gs as well as Yahoo’s own pinging service.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
