Yahoo gets its mobile on with Flickr app update

Yahoo is delivering on its promise to get serious about mobile

When Marissa Mayer said in Yahoo’s last earnings call that the team was going to double down on mobile, she meant it.  Since coming on board as CEO, Yahoo has made two acquisitions to get its mobile and social boat floating.  And now one of the company’s most popular products, Flickr, is getting a makeover.  Specifically, the Flickr iPhone app is getting an update—a long overdue one.  The last time the Flickr app was updated was no less than one year ago.

The new app features high resolution filters that you can apply after you’ve snapped the photo, a la Instagram.  Additionally, the new Flickr app lets you share on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and email.  You can also upload multiple photos from your camera roll to the Flickr site and tag people and add locations from Foursquare.

And to snaz up the social angle, the updated app comes with a new Explore tab that allows users to browse other users’ photos and check out details like how the photo was taken, what groups and sets it belongs to, and who is tagged.

The Flickr team says that the app was updated to support its most popular camera: the iPhone.  That makes sense.  What doesn’t make sense is why it took them a year to update the app…

It looks like this is the week for updates to Yahoo’s core products.  Yesterday, Mayer herself took to Yahoo’s blog to announce the new Yahoo Mail upgrade.

“We’ve redesigned the new version of Yahoo! Mail with speed in mind -- getting through your emails is faster than ever before,” said Mayer.  “We’ve also made your inbox more intuitive and easier to navigate, allowing you to focus on what matters most: your messages.”

Last week, Yahoo acquired (or rather, acqui-hired) the team from OnTheAir, a video chat service that can be used for casual hangouts or to organize largish webinars, due to users’ ability to moderate speakers and converse with participants via a split screen.  Audience members can “call in,” or they can chat with one another.  Yahoo claims that it has no plans to use the technology though.

Prior to that, Yahoo acquired Stamped, the Justin Bieber-backed mobile app that lets users “stamp” and share their favorite restaurants, movies, books, music, and more.