Yahoo! unveils Modular Go 3.0 Beta at the 2008 International CES in a bid to counter Google

A few months ago Google unveiled its Android open operating system for cellular phones. There were speculations back then that it was Google’s way to show a measure of disparity between the company and Yahoo!, one of its biggest rivals to date. And many were expecting a similar move from Yahoo!, whose reformation strategy till that point revolved around paring its failing entertainment ventures, and analyzing its search, responsive content, and advertising platform. Yahoo! needed to present the mobile part of its platform in order to equalize its standing, counter Google’s attack, and most importantly, as a kind of open service unto itself.

Guess what? All those prayers were answered finally yesterday when Yahoo! co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang showed off the latest version of its Yahoo! Go 3.0 beta mobile platform at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is underway in Las Vegas.

Yahoo! Go is essentially a solution for anyone with a mobile phone. It’s an all-in-one offering, letting you enjoy the best of the web on your phone. And did I mention for free. Using the Yahoo! Go, you will be able to send an email, upload photos, download maps, search for answers, check stock quotes, or get breaking news.

With this launch, Yahoo! intends to market Go as an open platform for third party widget developers and unlike Google’s Android operating environment, the Yahoo! Go platform will work on over 250 mobile devices that Go already works on. The inclusion of the Mobile Widget Platform will render access to third-party widgets on the Yahoo! Go and Yahoo! Mobile pages.

Yahoo! Go also features an intuitive User Interface, optimized for the mobile device. The home page is customizable, and includes a new email at a glance, messenger, Flickr, news, calendar, weather, finance, sports, entertainment, and so on.

Consumers in the U.S. will be able to download Yahoo! Go 3.0 on over 30 mobile devices from major manufacturers worldwide and use it on most wireless networks. Yahoo! promises that over the coming months it will make Yahoo! Go 3.0 available on hundreds of devices worldwide, accessible to millions of users.

Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo!, said in a statement,“Today’s launch of Yahoo! Go 3.0 is a game-changing mobile development from Yahoo!. This new open environment provides consumers with a highly-compelling user experience and robust, personalized starting point to the mobile Internet. We are providing users with increased control over their experiences as well as increased choice in getting the content and services they want while on the go.”

“With our innovative mobile services like Yahoo! Go 3.0 and deep partnerships across the industry, we are focused on making the promise of the mobile Internet a reality for consumers around the world,” he added.