AOL Introduces New Mobile Services
Effort is connected to rise in use of cell phones for Web browsing.Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service
America Online today introduced new and enhanced mobile services--including new mobile browsing that adapts regular Web pages to mobile screens--as the provider of online services and content competes for wireless Internet users.
AOL, which built its business by providing dial-up Internet access, has been trying in recent years to expand beyond this mature market in various ways, including by boosting its mobile offerings.
Demand and Competitors
As online services and content for mobile devices increase, the popularity of cell phones for accessing the Internet rises. In a study it cosponsored (the results of which were made public Monday), AOL found that among adult U.S. cell phone users, 52 percent keep their phones turned on all the time. The study also found significant U.S. demand today for mobile versions of online services like mapping, text messaging, photography, games, e-mail, Web search, and Web browsing.
It's no surprise then that all major providers of portal and search services are jockeying for position in the mobile market, including Google, Microsoft's MSN, and Yahoo, as well as AOL, which announced at the CTIA Wireless 2006 conference this week in Las Vegas that it is adding the mobile browsing service to its AOL.com mobile portal.
More AOL Announcements
AOL, a Time Warner subsidiary based in Dulles, Virginia, also announced an expansion of its partnership with Sprint Nextel to provide AOL's mobile portal services to all U.S. Sprint mobile subscribers. AOL's mobile portal includes a search engine, the AIM instant messaging service, AOL Mail, AOL Pictures, and news, entertainment, and weather content.
Meanwhile, AOL's online mapping unit, MapQuest, announced it plans to provide a mobile service that will provide spoken driving directions to users. Called MapQuest Navigator, the service is expected to become available via U.S. cell phone providers later this year. MapQuest also announced that it now has a version of its Web site formatted for mobile devices, which users can access by going here.
This is AOL's latest push in the mobile Internet space. Last year, the company launched several mobile search services, including its AOL Search general Web search engine, its Pinpoint Shopping comparison shopping engine, and its AOL Yellow Pages listing of local businesses.
The mobile Internet market doesn't currently generate much revenue for Web portal and search engine operators, but they know they have to claim a space now, says Julie Ask, a Jupiter Research analyst. "It's important for them to be in the mobile game today," she says. "Users are starting to form habits."
In the United States, about 10 percent of cell phone service subscribers engaged in mobile browsing in the past six months, she says. That amounts to between 20 million and 25 million subscribers. However, that percentage is expected to grow in coming years, along with the revenue opportunity, as the mobile Internet experience improves, she says.