Yahoo is making a run at freshening up its suite of services. Earlier this week, the company announced that it has launched two new mobile apps, one for email and one for weather.
While Yahoo is expanding into these mobile markets though, they're also slimming down their existing product line. Effective on April 30, Upcoming, Deals, SMS Alerts, Kids, and their Mail and Messenger phone apps will be cut.
Upcoming was previously used for finding events. Deals was a bargain, coupon, and brick and mortar store sale search app. SMS Alerts allowed users to receive updates on a variety of topics through their phone. Kids included games and educational resources for parents and children.
Additionally, June 3 will see the loss of older versions of Yahoo Mail, including Yahoo Mail Classic. Users will now be required to switch to Yahoo's new mail system to continue utilizing the service. Yahoo has stated that the new Mail is "fast and easier to use."
Last month, Yahoo cut over six other product lines, including Avatars, and Yahoo Sorts IQ. They also introduced a revamped home page complete with a Facebook-like personalized news feed.
It's no secret that the company has been facing increasingly tough competition from Google's growing suite of products. This latest endeavor is most likely part of Yahoo's ongoing mission to adapt its services for consumers using smartphones and social apps.
"Like we announced last month, we want to bring you experiences that inspire and entertain you every day," said Yahoo executive vice president of platforms Jay Rossiter in a blog post. "That means taking a hard look at all of our products to make sure they are still central to your daily habits."
It bears noting that unlike its competitors Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and even Microsoft, Yahoo still has not entered the social networking or mobile hardware markets.