Review of the Yahoo.com Currency Converter
Take its financial and investing web pages, for example. These include a currency converter that you will find useful for lots of different reasons. So let’s take a closer look to see how it works, and what it has to offer.
What is the URL to go directly to it?
You will find the currency converter in the financial section of the site, at http://finance.yahoo.com/currency?u. The home page for Yahoo as a whole is http://www.yahoo.com.
What is it like?
The Yahoo finance site features the familiar red Yahoo logo in the top left of the screen. You might find the page as a whole to look a little daunting to begin with, since there are graphs and other items that look rather on the complex side.
But you don’t need to worry about that, because the currency converter itself is situated near the top of the page. That means you don’t have to go searching for it, or use any of the other elements of the page if you don’t need to.
Is it easy to use?
This converter couldn’t be easier! It takes up a fraction of the space on the page, and there are three simple boxes to enter your information into. The first one is for the amount you want to convert. Simply type in the amount you have in mind, and then take a look at the other two boxes.
The first drop down box gives you the currency you are converting from. If you click on the small arrow you will see there are plenty to choose from. There are dozens of currencies available in this converter, and they are all listed in alphabetical order. You can of course use the quick shortcut that is standard to all these types of converter - simply hit the initial letter of the country whose currency you want.
Then you repeat exactly the same process for the second box, which indicates the currency you want to convert the chosen amount into. Once that is completed, all you have to do is click on the button which says ‘convert’.
You will remain in the same screen, but you will see a box appear underneath the currency converter which gives you your results. It will give you the exchange rate which is relevant and the date that rate was taken, and you will also see bid and ask rates, which will be of use if you are interested in the Forex markets.
If you scroll down slightly you will also see a graph which gives you an insight into how these two currencies have performed against each other over the last few months. You can change this data as well.
Are there any particular features worth noting?
One useful tip is to look for the ‘invert currencies’ link which appears in the top right hand corner above that graph. One click on this inverts everything - even the information you put into the currency converter, so it is a quick and easy way to see how things stand if you look at the two currencies from the other way around.
This website is also very useful for people who are looking to trade in currencies, because of the amount of additional information that is there if you need it. For example, when you use the currency converter and take a look at your results, you will see a clickable link. This bears the two three digit currency codes that are relevant to those two countries, plus =X on the end.
When you click on this link you will be taken into another page, which gives you trading information that may prove to be useful. It is this degree of information regarding Forex matters that makes the site a good one to use for these purposes.
In conclusion
Yahoo is a big site which touches on a lot of different subjects. Its currency converter is in essence quite a simple one. It doesn’t give you historical rates for example, other than the information given on the graph.
But even with that in mind, you can get a lot from this currency converter. It is definitely aimed more at those who have a constant interest in the currency markets rather than holidaymakers, but it certainly does its job well.
So if you need a converter that is quick and easy to use, pick this one.
