Telecom to launch Yahoo!Xtra Bubble - Free enhanced services to Xtra subscribers

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steve98

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Topic # 15215 9-Aug-2007 21:09

Telecom are launching a new service called Yahoo!Xtra Bubble - and it looks very attractive indeed. Free to subscribers, the service will include (according to the teaser site at www.yourbubble.co.nz):

* Personalisation of Yahoo homepage
* Merging of Xtramail and Yahoo!Mail - keep your @xtra.co.nz e-mail address but no more Xtra Webmail, instead the Yahoo Pro Mail interface is used with bags of storage. A HUGE improvement! Some of you may know it as Yahoo! Mail Plus (mailplus.mail.yahoo.com) which is normally US$20 per year
* Upto 10 additional mailboxes FREE (not just aliases)
* Flickr Pro account - usually US$25 per year - offers unlimited storage space for photos
* Pro Briefcase - 1GB of free storage space for you to store whatever you like
* Plus it hints at the possibility of a free security suite coming soon.

Hats off to Telecom, this sounds like an awesome package, and at zero charge.

Steve

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Reply # 81815 9-Aug-2007 21:30

Hmm think that will work if you have changed providers, but still pay for a xtra email address?

paradoxsm

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Reply # 81818 9-Aug-2007 21:41

Good move! Finally the first value added thing on Xtra since the "xtra unlimited" became the "Xtra Value pack"

The email move is a very welcome one indeed after the outages with the bad platform they were using.

Hoosein

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Reply # 81859 10-Aug-2007 09:03

Anyone know when this will be launched? I did receive an email from xtra some time ago about some exciting chnges coming very soon.

bonkiebonks

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Reply # 81870 10-Aug-2007 09:55

Hoosein: Anyone know when this will be launched? I did receive an email from xtra some time ago about some exciting chnges coming very soon.

20th August according to the website.

freitasm

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Reply # 81873 10-Aug-2007 10:03

I was "exposed" to this earlier this week, and contacted Telecom PR for more information. I was told that more information would be coming my way today, so wait a bit and I will update this thread later.

AS for the nay sauers - regardless of being a Xtra e-mail address (I have two!) it's no different than being an IHUG, Orcon or Slingshot.

And with 1GB storage for files, plus unlimited storage for e-mail, this is a winner offering. Let's see the details later when I get the whole package information.

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steve98

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Reply # 81912 10-Aug-2007 15:21

A CSR at Xtra told me to check out [URL removed as requested by TNZ] -- whaddya know it seems to be working already. I even set up my flickr pro account!! Wahoo!!

First impressions - awesome stuff. Extremely customizable home page that I will get regular use out of, mail also looks great. You can use it to send e-mail right now but at the moment inbox will be empty. Guess Xtra will be migrating mailboxes over to the yahoo platform when it goes live.

Little bit wobbly user-wise at the moment, but that will be because its beta. The great news is at the top of the screen there is a link that says 'Download Yahoo!Xtra online protection'. If you click it you will be told this isn't available yet but it does spill the beans on what it actually is - Norton Antivirus and Norton Personal Firewall. While some of us will be put off using Norton bloatware it is fantastic to see that Telecom are adding real value to their customers subscriptions by offering this free. It will be a welcome replacement for the farcical Xtra Security Suite (by McAfee) at $7.50 per month.

Telecom have really come up trumps here. It feels like Christmas!

Hoosein

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Reply # 81914 10-Aug-2007 15:25

Just got an email from Xtra. the launch is set for the 20th August.....

freitasm

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Reply # 81916 10-Aug-2007 15:34

The official press release:

Telecom retail announce major new offering
Telecom retail today announced a major new service - free and exclusive to all Telecom internet customers – Yahoo!Xtra Bubble.

Scheduled to launch in the coming weeks Yahoo!Xtra Bubble will offer a suite of premium services accessed through a personalised homepage – all at no extra cost.

Telecom’s Adrian Littlewood said Yahoo!Xtra Bubble is the first such offering in the NZ marketplace.
“Yahoo!Xtra Bubble is effectively a VIP area for Telecom internet customers. We expect strong uptake from both existing and new customers.

“The service will act as a compelling differentiator and a great reason for customers to be with Telecom,” Mr Littlewood said.

Yahoo!Xtra Bubble’s premium features include; a personalised home page with best of breed email storage, online photo storage and sharing with Flickr Pro, a 1GB online briefcase, and to launch shortly an all-in-one free security suite featuring Norton AntiVirus™, the world’s top selling anti-virus software.*

“Yahoo!Xtra Bubble is an exciting package, we are delighted to be able to offer all of our Telecom broadband and dial-up customers a range of fully loaded, value added services for free.”
Mr Littlewood said the Yahoo!Xtra initiative has enabled Telecom to access and package up some of the best online products and services available.

"Yahoo!Xtra Bubble reflects the constant evolution in how New Zealanders use the internet, particularly people’s growing desire to personalise their internet experience and the demand for increased storage capacity and improved online security.

“At a retail level Telecom has invested a significant amount into Yahoo!Xtra Bubble, with an ongoing yearly commitment,” Mr Littlewood said.

With the introduction of Yahoo!Xtra Bubble, the more than 600,000 Telecom internet subscribers will be moved from the Xtra email platform to a Yahoo! hosted service. For more information and registration details customers can visit www.yourbubble.co.nz

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Hoosein

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Reply # 81918 10-Aug-2007 15:46

Sounds really exciting... Does the additional email accounts mean real email accounts, IE own passowrd etc? The alias option we currently have is not really private.

Bung

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Reply # 81920 10-Aug-2007 16:10

If Xtra are handing over Email reponsibilities to Yahoo this could be interesting. I have some mail redirected from Xtra that rarely makes it through to my Yahoo mail box. It gets dropped as Spam or rejected for other reasons by Yahoo. So far the attitude has been "well it's only a Yahoo account why worry?"

freitasm

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Reply # 81932 10-Aug-2007 17:28

As requested by Telecom New Zealand I have removed the link steve98 posted. The "official" link is the one I posted in the press release.

The one provided by a "CSR" is a beta link and not to be used - it will not be the official entry to the site after launch.

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nzbnw

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Reply # 81942 10-Aug-2007 18:21

Hoosein: Sounds really exciting... Does the additional email accounts mean real email accounts, IE own passowrd etc? The alias option we currently have is not really private.

Yes 'real' email accounts.

nzbnw

timestyles

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Reply # 81944 10-Aug-2007 18:43

I don't want to be a naysayer but I can't see what the fuss is all about. I've got a free yahoo mailbox, admittedly it's not pop3, but that seems to be the only real value there - there are many free photo sites, it just seems to be not much value considering how much extra people pay with xtra (pun not intended!).

freitasm

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Reply # 81946 10-Aug-2007 19:10

1GB storage, free antivirus and security software, Flickr Pro account and additional e-mail address?

I think this is a good value.

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SilentOne

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Reply # 82087 12-Aug-2007 13:45

freitasm: 1GB storage, free antivirus and security software, Flickr Pro account and additional e-mail address?

I think this is a good value.

Not to mention all of the above can be customized and melded together into your own "bubble" or homepage exactly how you want it - with RSS feeds and direct feeds from your flicker albums all on the one page.

I know this can be done now through the likes of google etc but it certainly cuts out a lot of extra links and logins.

Nice foot forward for Xtra in my books.

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