Zimbra Will Make Yahoo Mail Even Sexier

I use hosted Gmail across all my domains, but I have to admit: Yahoo Mail is pretty damn cool. From unlimited storage to an Outlookish-yet-snappy Ajax interface, Yahoo Mail presents stiff competition for the wonderfully elegant and pluggable Gmail.

Yahoo Mail’s only going to get cooler now that Yahoo has acquired open-source email server software provider Zimbra for $350 million cash. Zimbra features even more Ajax browser email goodness with an offline client to boot, boasting among its customers such sexy tech companies as Digg and Mozilla.

Could this mean a richer Yahoo Mail interface coupled with an offline Yahoo Mail client? One thing’s for sure: Zimbra won’t become just another chunk of poorly integrated Yahoo peanut butter. Yahoo SVP Brad Garlinghouse spearheaded the deal, and he hates peanut butter.