| 1 | Yahoo's unveiled a messaging app to take on the likes of Snapchat, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. |
| 2 | Livetext will allow users to exchange live video, text and emoticons, but without audio. |
| 3 | The app is available now for Apple and Android devices in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and France. |
| 4 | "We wanted to find that new and expressive way of communicating," said Adam Cahan from Yahoo at a New York media event to launch the app. |
| 5 | Yahoo says video calls can be better than texts for expressing emotions, but their audio component makes private conversations public. |
| 6 | With Livetext, you message friends by typing, just like texting, but you see video of friends without the audio. |
| 7 | Cahan said the Yahoo team chose to focus on video without audio to encourage people to use the app in different situations. |
| 8 | He said that they'd found with audio, in many situations, people "aren't willing to engage". |
| 9 | At the event, product manager Arjun Sethi demonstrated "conversations" over smartphone connections that showed live facial expressions along with text and emoticons. |
| 10 | "We see video as a way to make your conversations more authentic, and we see text as a way to connect that's quick and non-intrusive," Sethi said. |
| 11 | The move comes with Yahoo aiming to refocus its business on mobile and video after losing leadership in web browser search. |
| 12 | The tech industry already has a number of messaging apps ranging from Facebook-owned WhatsApp to Snapchat, which features disappearing video messages. |
| 13 | "Every platform shift leads to new forms of communication, driven by our desire to connect and interact in richer ways," Cahan said in a statement. |
| 14 | "We wanted to create a new way to communicate, blending the simplicity of texting with the emotion and immediacy of live video, to make your experience spontaneous and real." |
| 15 | The app was tested in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Ireland, as well as some US college campuses. |
| 16 | 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. |
| 17 | Arjun Sethi came to Yahoo from the mobile messaging app MessageMe, bought by Yahoo last year. |
| 18 | Yahoo! |