It probably means that Yahoo Mail still does not support being read by e-mail client software. If they include that support when the new mail comes out of beta, it would surprise me. But if they do, it may only be for 'premium' accounts, and it might also be software sensitive (WinXP/Outlook only).
While e-mail client software may have the ability to read web-based (HTTP) mail, it requires the support of the server. Yahoo is one of many that has not given support to date, to my knowledge. Hotmail (Microsoft) actually discontinued support, even for Outlook, for free accounts in '04.