| 1 | NEW YORK - Imagine making a video call without other people being able to listen in. |
| 2 | Yahoo is trying to make that happen with Livetext, a new app that seeks to make video calling as private as texting. |
| 3 | Yahoo says video calls can be better than texts for expressing emotions, but their audio component makes private conversations public. |
| 4 | With Livetext, you message friends by typing, just like texting, but you see video of friends without the audio. |
| 5 | Adam Cahan, a senior vice president at Yahoo, said Wednesday at an event in New York that Livetext doesn't include audio because communication is enhanced when it's silent. |
| 6 | "We want to make sure that there's no inhibition to answering and connecting," said Cahan. |
| 7 | "For me, honestly, whenever I get like a video chat or I get a call - - I instinctively just send to voice mail or turn it off." |
| 8 | It's the latest example of Yahoo trying to catch up in mobile services since Marissa Mayer became the company's CEO three years ago. |
| 9 | Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype and other services already deliver video calls. |
| 10 | Yahoo's twist is silencing audio. |
| 11 | It's not clear how much traction this app will get. |
| 12 | Friends will also need to be using Livetext, and for now, the pool of users is much smaller than those with established rivals. |
| 13 | Following tests in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Ireland, as well as some U.S. college campuses, the app will be released Thursday in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France and the U.K. Versions for Apple and Android devices will be available. |
| 14 | Mayer is looking for new products to bolster user numbers and engagement - and that should, in turn, attract more advertising to reach those folks. |
| 15 | Investors were disappointed last week when Yahoo said it expects third-quarter revenue of $1 billion to $1.04 billion, short of analysts' estimates of $1.07 billion. |
| 16 | Mayer has touted her efforts around smartphones and tablets. |
| 17 | Yahoo's mobile user base rose 14 per cent to more than 600 million, she said during a call with analysts earlier this month. |
| 18 | Revenue for mobile jumped 55 per cent to US$252 million during the second quarter. |