AOL Improves its Mobile Search
AOL on Thursday introduced a new set of search services for mobile devices that it says will make searching the Web on smaller screens as useful as searching from the desktop. Three services will make up the new service: AOL Search, Pinpoint Shopping and AOL Yellow Pages.
Through technology provided by InfoGin, the service formats both the search results and the Web sites visited from those listings to fit the smaller screens of mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs.
AOL says this extends the usefulness of mobile search, as a user will no longer need to be concerned with whether or not a Web site has a mobile-formatted version available. Instead, a user will be able to visit any site as if they were visiting from a desktop computer.
"We are committed to providing people everywhere with easy access to the Web’s full range of information services wherever they may go," AOL Search senior vice president Jim Riesenbach said in prepared remarks.
Other services provided by AOL include Pinpoint Shopping that will allow users to compare prices and products from various merchants "on-the-fly," and AOL Yellow Pages, where a user will be able to search for local businesses and get directions, or call directly from the results page.
AOL Mobile Search will be accessible from mobile.aolsearch.com. While the service itself will be free, data usage charges would be carrier dependent, AOL said.