Yahoo is all set to roll out a new version of its homepage this week and Kara Swisher of AllThingsD has managed to get a preview, along with an exclusive chat with Tapan Bhat, senior vice-president of Integrated Consumer Experiences.
First off, the good news for Indians: We will be seeing this new avatar along with the US, France and the UK next week. Perhaps our strong words about being ignored during the launch of Search Pad had some effect after all…
The beta version of the new homepage will be on an opt-in basis. After signing into their Yahoo account, users will be presented with an option to switch to what Bhat calls “the most fundamental change to the homepage ever.”
Swisher writes: “The most striking change is prominent left-side ‘My Favorites’ area, with 65 specially designed applications that users can customize, including giving a quick hovering glimpse of email, stocks and also of third-party sites like Facebook.
And of course, you can update your Facebook status messages and send emails directly from these hovering-popup boxes.
“Not quite a dashboard, nor exactly a social networking page, it feels a little like Yahoo took a browser tab or a toolbar, put it vertical format and gave it some great functionality,” Swisher adds.
And yes, for fans of the good lady’s wonderful tech updates, there’s a widget for AllThingsD too! For a full rundown of all the features and the interview, head over to the AllThingsD blog.