AOL Launches Mobile Portal Service
AOL UK has launched a mobile portal service that gives users access to content channels, email and AOL Web Surf, with targeted mobile banners available for advertisers.
The company said the portal would offer users the most “realistic interpretation of a full online experience” on a mobile to date.
The portal gives users 30 days of continuous login to their email accounts and they can also customise their homepage and content channels to reflect their preferences.
Users can choose to place content from AOL.co.uk, including Premiership club news, weather or horoscope information, directly on their mobile homepage.
They can also access other content channels on their phone, such as news and sport, which are also pulled directly off AOL.co.uk.
AOL’s Web Surf service allows users to enter any website URL and the site is then transcoded down for the consumer to view on their mobile phone.
All navigation pages feature space for a relevant banner ads, and key channels are broken out with sublinks for quick navigation.
Ariel Eckstein, vice-president of business expansion at AOL, said: “[The new portal] will raise the bar of how people can expect to interact with the internet via their mobile phones.
“Throughout the process we have always been guided by the very strict principle of understanding how consumers want to experience the internet on mobile devices.
“The simple functionality and relevant and customisable content are a clear reflection of AOL’s ability to deliver simple but innovative products that respond to emerging consumer demands.”
Dana Dunne, chief executive of AOL Europe, said: “This launch of the UK mobile portal is a very definite milestone in AOL’s development as the world’s largest and most effective advertising network as well as a leading provider of content.
“With mobile portals operating in the US, France, Germany, India and now the UK, we are in an ever stronger position to offer advertisers original and highly targeted channels to reach their audiences.”
The Mobile Data Association (MDA) said earlier this year that the number of mobile phone users accessing the internet on their handsets continued to grow during the last quarter of 2006.
An overall total of 45.6 million unique users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile internet in the UK throughout October, November and December last year, an average of 15 million each month. These figures show a quarterly increase in the average unique users per month from 13 to 15 million (see Mobile Internet User Numbers Grow).
AOL: 01268 530919 www.aol.co.uk