RSSAOL moves to bring its services to the mobile screen
By Ed Oswald | Published April 1, 2008, 1:01 PM
The online service company announced that it will be initiating a full court press of sorts for mobile services, announcing a variety of them at CTIA.A.
Starting Tuesday, AOL will begin offering a new application called MyMobile that allows Windows Mobile users to gain access to the company's suite of online services through their handsets.
The application sports a carousel-like navigation and contains technology that remembers the users' preferences and recent searches. Certain services will also be available offline.
Versions for other mobile operating systems will be available soon, the company says.
Apple iPhone users in mid-April will be able to use a version of AOL's search client specifically formatted for use on the popular smartphone. Blackberry users will also be able to install an icon that allows access to the search site directly from the home screen.
"We've significantly improved the performance of our core consumer mobile products, [and] we're introducing new, more modular products, and we're very focused on the importance of our new open mobile initiative," executive vice president Kevin Conroy said in a statement.
One of those core products getting an enhancement is AIM TXT, which AOL has now ensured will work properly across all major cellular networks. The service works by allowing users to control basic AIM functions through SMS messaging, as well as send IMs to their buddies via text.
AIM TXT, how weak is that? The ability to send sms text messages to people over the AIM network at the user’s expense. Why not revamp that aging Windows Mobile AIM application and allow direct messaging over the AIM network? This new application suite isn't even worth thinking about.
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