AOL launches new mobile services
San Francisco (IDGNS) - AOL plans to unveil a number of new mobile services Tuesday, including the customizable MyAOL for mobile phones as well as a redesigned AOL.com portal page for mobile phones. — The beta version of the mobile portal …
Context & Ripple Effects
AOL had already moved into handset search with its mobile search launch in August 2007. Adding a customizable MyAOL service and a redesigned AOL.com mobile portal extends that effort from a single utility toward a broader mobile destination.
The release arrives alongside confirmed workforce reductions at AOL, making a reusable AOL.com and MyAOL presence on phones a more consequential distribution move than a standalone feature release.
First-order effects
- AOL mobile users gain a customizable MyAOL experience and a redesigned AOL.com portal built for phone access.
- AOL can place its earlier mobile search service inside a broader mobile entry point rather than relying on search as an isolated product.
Second-order effects
- AOL's portal and personalization teams must make the same brand surfaces work across desktop and phone use, concentrating product attention on portable versions of AOL.com and MyAOL.
- Yahoo and Microsoft, already identified as adding social features to web email, face another portal rival seeking to keep users inside a branded mobile experience.
Third-order effects
- If major web portals continue packaging search, personalization and portal content for phones, mobile access becomes a core retention channel rather than a separate add-on.
- The move points to portal competition shifting from winning a homepage visit to maintaining a customizable account relationship across devices.
The trend: Web portals are extending their core search and personalized-homepage products to phones to preserve direct user relationships as mobile access grows.