Yahoo outs Android mail and messenger apps

Keeping up with the Googlers

Perpetual search engine runner up Yahoo has launched a couple of new apps for Google's Android operating system.

The Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Mail apps for Android are the first to be released by Yahoo. They can be downloaded from the Android Market for phones that support Android OS 2.0+, including the Motorola Droid, the HTC Incredible and Google's very own Nexus One.

Messenger and Mail come as separate apps but have a lot of common features and share data for what Yahoo calls "a better mobile communications experience". Both apps also hook up with your Yahoo address book and phone contacts, and allow you to share photos.

Yahoo has also updated its HTML5-based Web Mail App for iPhone and says the latest version is faster and more reliable.