The Bottom Line
A stellar product with a funny name, England-based Yuuguu offers an extremely versatile multi-protocol IM client with a high-powered conferencing and screen sharing tool.
While Yuuguu derives its name from the Japanese word for “fusion,” its moniker should also strike fear into the hearts of rival IM clients and web conferencing services across the Internet. (Yes, really. Yuuguu is that good.)
Pros
- Extremely versatile IM client with support for AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, others
- High-powered conferencing tools
- Cost-effective model helps Yuuguu beat out the competition
Cons
- Yuuguu is flawless. No cons to report.
Description
- Free Yuuguu account offers unlimited IM, 100 minutes free conferencing and screen sharing for up to five participants.
- Yuuguu Plus account offers unlimited conferencing and screen sharing for up to 30 participants at $15/month with no contract.
- Easiest download, installation of any conferencing solution, especially for conference participants without Yuuguu.
Guide Review - Yuuguu Stands Out for Stellar Service
Yuuguu Stands Out Among Rivals
On the IM client side, Yuuguu is easy to use with a simple contact list, organized by icons for AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ and Windows Live Messenger.
With zero advertisements and the lack of bells and whistles cluttering the contact list like other IM clients, Yuuguu’s clean interface makes it one of the reasons why its such an attractive client.
But, Yuuguu’s real novelty is in its highly effective and cost-efficient conferencing tools, which include screen sharing and automated telephone conferencing system.
In About.com testing, I was able to set up a web conference with a single click. Once the window was open, I sent an IM with the conference code to my participants.
Unlike users of WebEX or GoToMeeting, my participants were not required to install any plugin, Java applet or Active X. All they needed was a web browser, Flash and a conference code and most reported sign in within 30 seconds of being on the web site.
The ease of hosting a web conference--and for others to participate--is a monumental development over the competition.
The service is high quality, offering a great experience for screen sharing of Powerpoint presentations, web pages and other documents, but at a fraction of the cost of similar services.
In fact, Yuuguu Plus users stand to save hundreds of dollars and up to 75 percent less each year with their $15 monthly service, with no contracts.
With such a robust offering, Yuuguu will muscle into a sizeable market share of web conferencing users, in addition to pulling away IM users from similar multi-protocol IM clients.
New developments, CEO Anish Kapoor promises, will likely help drive Yuuguu to the top of its industry.
System Requirements
Cross platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) available.Windows Me, 2000, XP or Vista required.
