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Yahoo's unlimited storage email service shed its beta label and added the ability to send and receive text messages to and from mobile phones in several countries. The long-running Yahoo Mail beta is no more. It's just Yahoo Mail now, with a new feature and a significant improvement to its performance.

Yahoo's feature-rich next-generation email product had been recognizable as much for a lack of speed as for its capabilities. That's not the case any longer, as we found Yahoo Mail much faster than its previous versions.

Yahoo Mail vice president John Kremer announced on the official Yahoo blog the addition of SMS to the service. People in the US, Canada, India, and the Philippines can send and receive text messages for free within Yahoo Mail's interface.

The SMS function is rolling out across the Yahoo Mail userbase, as is the removal of the beta label. Kremer also reminded people that the instant messaging ability within Yahoo Mail can reach people who are also on Yahoo Mail, along with Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger.

People who prefer to stick with the classic Yahoo Mail interface can do so. Kremer said Yahoo will keep that interface available.