Yesterday I blogged about Xobni for the first time, little did I know that a major update would be released today.

The free Microsoft Outlook plug-in Xobni is a must-have for anyone looking to get more from Outlook, and today the plug-in got even better. That’s because Xobni now integrates the following services directly in it’s sidebar:

  • Facebook: Using official APIs, the Facebook tab displays at-a-glance info from a contact’s network if Xobni can track down their profile. Status messages, network information, profile and friend pictures, and events are all shown here, and an Add button allows you to add new contacts to your Facebook. I don’t have a Facebook account, so this new functionality has not been tested by me. As far as I have understood it, Xobni’s Facebook integration is primarily a one-way window. That means that you cannot send a Facebook message to coworkers or comment on one of their photos or status messages from within Outlook.
  • Yahoo Mail: If you allow Xobni to index your Yahoo e-mail, relevant messages from that account will appear when you use Xobni’s search panel. Xobni doesn’t allow you to keep an eye on Yahoo Mail as it arrives, and replying or doing anything with the messages you find in search results requires you to login to Yahoo Mail in a browser.
  • Hoover: Not a well known service here in Norway. Xobni displays information about the sender’s company based on their e-mail domain. Company size, stock symbol, and basic contact information is culled from the Hoovers. Sadly I have not found a contact working for a company/organization with a Hoover registration yet.
  • Their Skype integration also got enhanced. As long as you have Skype installed and authorize Xobni to integrate with it, a Skype icon will also appear next to phone numbers, allowing you to initiate a SkypeOut call, send an SMS, or add the person’s phone number or Skype ID to the address book. You can also send any individual an invitation to get a Skype account.
  • LinkedIn: No new functionality in this release of Xobni.

Another improvement is a better integration of avatar, thumbnail pictures of your contacts. It can now also be fetched from the Addressbook in Outlook and Facebook.

Xobni has become an even more useful tool for building an informational web between one’s Outlook e-mail and existing social networks. It almost so I start beliving in Web 2.0, and Xobni has not even introduced their paid Pro version yet (I will buy it!).

Please give the new version of Xobni a try, and share your thoughts in the comments!