SAN FRANCISCO : Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer thinks the Internet company will be able to please more people with fewer smartphone applications.

Mayer says she hopes to winnow Yahoo’s portfolio of mobile applications from the current 60 to 75 programmes to about a dozen. Her remarks came during a Tuesday appearance before investors in San Francisco.

It marked the first time that Mayer has spoken at an investment conference since she defected from Google Inc. to become Yahoo Inc.’s CEO seven months ago.

Since joining Yahoo, Mayer has stressed that the company needs to come up with a better mobile strategy to ensure its services become ingrained as daily habits that “delight and inspire” its users.

If Yahoo succeeds, Mayer thinks the company will be able to sell more advertising.