Yahoo debuted a new Yahoo Mail app for tablets today and its being well received. The app has the run-of-the-mill layout as the competition, with features like the a column on the left side of the screen displaying the inbox, and a larger square on the right displaying each message. But as Mashable points out, "Yahoo stands out from the competition, however, with a special full screen function for reading mail." Adam Cahan, Yahoo's SVP of Mobile and Emerging Products, described the app as "unboxing your email," explaining that the app is designed to take advantage of the tablet's full …

Microsoft is now giving its users the ability to add a two-factor authentication across its services including Outlook.com and MSN Hotmail. The authentication process gives users an extra layer of security. It requires users to enter two codes to access their account including a normal password and a code sent as a text message. Users can designate trusted devices that they use often to reduce the number of prompts they receive. "You use a code sent to a phone or email only once (per Web browser per device) and we remember that device in the future," explains Microsoft on their …

Google's Gmail application was out for some users on Wednesday morning. Disruptions in the service began affecting users around 8am ET, though they were resolved around lunchtime. Google said that it did not know the cause or how many people were affected by the disruption but the company is looking into the issue.

After being criticized by politicians and civil rights organizations, the IRS' acting commissioner Steven Miller has promised to quit reading emails without a warrant. When asked during a congressional hearing by Sen. Ron Wyden if the agency would give up this spying policy, he said, "we intend to do that," reports TechCrunch. Yesterday, the organization told CSO Online, that it does not use email to target tax payers.

Consumers spend three minutes an hour with email, according to a new report from Experian Marketing Services. The report examined time consumption rates for the most common online activities on PCs and mobile devices in the U.S., the UK and Australia. The report revealed that consumers spent 16 minutes of every hour engaging with social networks and 5 minutes of every hour shopping. However, when it comes to mobile devices, email trumped social. According to the report, during Q1 2013, U.S. consumers spent 23 percent of their time on their mobile devices and only 15 percent of the time on …

Earlier this month, Apparel Magazine reported that Destination XL Group had partnered with CQuotient to create a hyper-personalized email marketing program. Jay Nigrelli, VP of e-commerce for the specialty retailer revealed more details to Direct Marketing News this week. He said that the group sends out "five to 10 emails containing personalized recommendations highlighting a specific promotion." The email program is driven by data and to measure its success, Nigrelli said that the company looks at unsubscribes, opens, clicks, previous purchases, what a customer clicks on, and site behavior.

Sixty-one percent of marketers rate their email campaign performance as 'poor' or 'average', according to the Econsultancy/Adestra Email Marketing Industry Census 2013. According to the report, only 4 percent of marketers rate their performance as 'excellent.' The report also revealed that 62 percent of marketers spend two or more hours on design and content on an email campaign and that 27 percent of marketers spend no time optimizing emails. The report also revealed that 71 percent have basic or no email optimization strategy for mobile devices.

Bubbles a Web-based email platform that lets users create and send handwritten notes over email has received $100,000 from angel investors, including a former Adobe engineer. The service is currently in beta but has already signed up 40,000 users. Using the platform, a consumer can write a note or draw an image using a virtual piece of paper and then send the file as a PDF email attachment. The angel funding will be used to continue development and marketing of the product.

Silent Circle, a private communications company created by the founders of PGP and two former US Navy SEALs, is now offering an encrypted emails service. The new email application, which joins a text and voice encryption tool, uses custom code to ensure completely encrypted communications. The tool is free to existing Silent Circle subscribers. The company has plans to introduce six more services by the end of the year, including encrypted voicemail, encrypted contact lists, a mail app.

TextMaster, a startup based in France, has introduced a new tool called LOOP that lets users proofread and translate emails on demand. To use the service, customers can send an email that needs to be proofread or translated to a custom email address and get TextMaster will return it in a different language or without spelling or linguistic mistakes. TextMaster works with a stable of more than 47,000 editors and translators to get the job done. The service costs 2 euro cents per word for translations and 1 euro cent per word for proofreading.