Yahoo Chose Apple's iPhone, MacBook Pro To Promote Mail Upgrade

Android phones may be more successful, but Apple's AAPL hugely popular smartphone has won the hearts of millions of customers. And, as luck would have it, one multinational Internet corporation. Yahoo YHOO, one of the largest media companies in the world, has chosen to use a couple of Apple products to promote the newly announced revision of Yahoo Mail. Some of the enhancements include:

• Quick actions when hovering over or selecting a message (for Web users).
• Free Disposable Addresses (previously only available to Mail Plus users).
• Up to 200 filters (also a Mail Plus feature that is now free).
• Free Offline Access with POP (yet another Mail Plus feature that has been carried over).

The Yahoo Mail app will allow users to customize their inboxes with a photo backdrop. Related messages will now be grouped together, which should allow users to view e-mails more easily. These intriguing features are available to three mobile platforms: iOS, Android and Windows Phone. BlackBerry BBRY was not included in the mix. Even so, the three main platforms have been covered. But when it came time to promote its revised mail service, Yahoo did not use products from Google GOOG, Microsoft MSFT or their partners. Yahoo only chose to use an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. Yahoo published two separate blog posts regarding its mail revisions. Both include photos of the Yahoo mail app running on a black iPhone 5. Related: Yahoo Buys Little-Known Startup AdMovate for Undisclosed Sum Yahoo also released a video to demonstrate the new mail features: During the 30-second clip, partygoers e-mail their friends about a rooftop gathering using the aforementioned Apple products. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer told Bloomberg that she hopes the company can get to the point where mobile provides the majority of the company's revenue. But instead of equally promoting the new Yahoo Mail to all users, the firm has heavily skewed its promotional efforts toward the least-threatening smartphone maker. Unlike Google and Microsoft, Apple does not want to be a leader in search, mail or media. This may be why Yahoo chose the iPhone over an Android phone from Samsung SSNLF. The notorious "cool factor" could have also played a role in the iPhone's inclusion. Yahoo's ad team (and/or its ad agency) may have thought that Apple products -- which dominate TV and films -- were cooler and more recognizable than a new handset from HTC HTCKF. Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ