Aiming to keep pace with recent new wireless inroads made by Yahoo and Google, AOL Tuesday unveiled new mobile versions of its online services within a revamped WAP portal. This major relaunch, accessible on your web enabled phone at AOL.com, includes upgrades that are mobile-friendly versions of AOL Search, Mail, MapQuest, and AOL Instant Messenger, among other features. The new mobile search, for instance, will offer 
results that are more tailored to users on the go, such as driving directions and click-to-call options linked to services like MapQuest and Moviefone. A cool new mobile widget for GPS-enabled phones will also allow AIM users to locate each other, marking a step by AOL into the mobile social networking area.
AOL has quietly assembled a number of good mobile assets over the past couple of years, and they may become a force in the market. Obviously, its purchase of Third Screen Media puts the company into the mobile ad market in a big way. But its new partnership with off-deck content provider ThumbPlay gives it a range of content. If AOL actually can distribute these services and gain traction, then it may have a way to use mobile to get the brand back into users' hearts and minds. Between Yahoo's mobile search play and AOL's mobile portal play, it seems as if also-ran brands are using mobile as a kind of comeback platform. Link(s): Media Post, Oct 24, 2007 - AOL Follows The Mobile Trail and AOL press release
AOL will launch a beta test preview of its new AOL Video portal later this week, available at www.aolvideo.com. This free portal service will include more than 45 new VOD channels containing thousands of hours of programming from various content partners such as A&E Network, MTV Networks, Warner Bros. Entertainment and the WNBA among others. It will also include a sophisticated video search engine with interactive programming guide; free streaming content and other full-length content available for purchase, as well as a multitude of videos, news clips, movie trailers, TV shows and more. Link: NYTimes.com 07/31/06 - AOL Plans Expansion of Videos on Portal
Case Makes case!
I was working with Time Warner during the merger with AOL and although I was shocked by the initial news, I did believe that the combination of the two company’s made great sense. This of course was years ago, when my 401K was worth something and I could have considered retirement at a reasonable age! Yesterday in an essay published in The Washington Post, my illustrious ex-leader Steve Case argues for the breakup of Time Warner, suggesting that its cable; print, film production and AOL units would perform better as stand-alone companies. Case believes the AOL-Time Warner merger failed in large part due to concessions made to the sprawling corporate divisions, which prevented company leaders from exploiting synergies in the combined company.Maybe he has a point! Read – “It’s time to Take it Apart.” From The Washington Post Dec 11, 2005.
results that are more tailored to users on the go, such as driving directions and click-to-call options linked to services like MapQuest and Moviefone. A cool new mobile widget for GPS-enabled phones will also allow AIM users to locate each other, marking a step by AOL into the mobile social networking area.
