Yahoo Go heads into Beta 3.0 with open widget platform

Yahoo Go is opening up, big time with the announcement today of a new Mobile Widget Platform. The time is right. I’ve been a big, big fan of Yahoo Go for a long time. It’s been terrifically overlooked by most — the first beta of Go was nigh-on-revolutionary in terms of what it offered consumers. The big issue? Mobile operators weren’t doing much in the way of unlimited data plans when 1.0 arrived. This has begun to sort itself out now — and with Yahoo Go bundled on many new handsets — and with hundreds of millions of Yahoo users heading into the mobile internet world — version 3.0 looks to be a step in the right direction.

Here are the key points on the widget offering:

– The platform is an open environment for deverlopers to create mobile Widgets for instant access by millions of consumers.
– Widgets created on the Mobile Widget Platform will be available to consumers from various starting points, including Yahoo! Go 3.0 and Yahoo!’s new mobile homepage.
– The platform will enable developers to write code once and publish their content across Yahoo!’s mobile network, allowing accelerated delivery of a feature-rich mobile experience.
– The platform will enable consumers more control over their experience, as well, by providing the functionality to add and delete Widgets at any time.
– Full-featured SDK for developers to be introduced over the coming weeks.
– Third-party Widget launch partners include, eBay, MySpace, and MTV.

I wonder just how powerful the widget platform will be? If it’s a good’un, then this development could really help trigger some exciting new innovations particularly if developers are able to leapfrog the total arse of mobile application development.

It’s not all Widgets though. There’s a completely new mobile homepage designed from the ground up that will now include ‘personal vitality and status updates’ (think: Flickr updates, new emails, friend messenger status and so on).

Yahoo Go is still very much aimed at the high-end mobile users — iPhone, Series 60 and a few Windows Mobile devices for now. There’s more support coming shortly for other handsets.

I’m looking forward to getting hold of it and trying it out, probably on the iPhone, or maybe on the N95…