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AOL Launches New Mobile Browsing Service

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

As part of its ongoing commitment to making wireless devices easier to enjoy, AOL has announced the debut of new mobile information and location services, including a mobile browsing service that automatically adapts web pages for mobile screens.

According to a new survey AOL conducted with the Associated Press and Pew Research Center, 52% of adults keep their mobile phone turned on all day, everyday, and 40% of those aged 18-29 are likely to drop their landline once and for all. The newly published report also reveals that more than 30% of adults want to search and browse the web from their mobile phone, while 47% say that mobile maps and driving directions are a 'must have' on the next phone they buy.

AOL's new mobile browsing service has been seamlessly integrated into the existing suite of mobile AOL Search services - including web search, shopping search and local search - to make it easy for consumers to navigate the web and find what they need from their mobile device.

The new browsing service also marks the successful expansion of AOL's alliance with InfoGin, a pioneer of web-to-mobile content adaptation solutions. AOL uses InfoGin's transcoding and content analysis technologies to extend the ease of desktop search and navigation to wireless devices, bringing a wealth of web resources to mobile users' finger tips.

Building on a long-standing relationship with Sprint, AOL is bringing its mobile portal services to Sprint subscribers across the US. This means Sprint subscribers have full access to America's most popular instant messaging community via downloadable mobile AIM applications or through the wireless web. Features include presence awareness via the mobile Buddy List feature, IM Forwarding and two-way desktop-to-mobile (IM2SMS) messaging services.

In a related announcement, AOL debuted MapQuest's new web-enabled service making it easier for consumers to access MapQuest.com. Coming soon, MapQuest Navigator will enable consumers to access global positioning service (GPS) turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions on their mobile phones.

Also coming soon is a new mobile pictures upload feature that will allow AOL Pictures users to automatically post photos taken with their mobile device to their AOL Pictures account, regardless of their wireless carrier. AOL will also introduce mobile blogging capabilities that will enable consumers to automatically post pictures from their mobile device to their AOL Journal or AIM Blog.

Source: Datamonitor

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