AOL Actually Launches Something New?

Yeah, remember AOL? That company that used to equal the internet to a large portion of the surfing public? That company that used to litter out mailboxes with AOL software CDs? Yeah, those people. Well, they are apparently launching something new: AOL Mobile.

AOL is today launching a mobile version of it’s AOL.com portal as well as a customizable MyAOL for mobile phones. According to the story:

The beta version of the mobile portal has been available since September but is now being formally introduced, said Scott Falconer, executive vice president of AOL Mobile. The portal includes the type of news, entertainment, and sports content that is available on the desktop version of the portal.

This really isn’t all that notable, but it is indicative of the growing importance of mobile internet content. While the web used to be the wild west, with most ideas untried, it really isn’t that way anymore. The mobile arena, though, is currently more like the web was many years ago. And the story says it like this:

AOL isn’t alone among Internet services and content companies pursuing mobile users. So far, none seems to have a clear advantage. “I would say it’s still an open market,” said Falconer. “Google of course is the leader in online search but mobile search is fundamentally different.” In addition to the online giants, a number of startups are targeting the mobile search and content market.

And that is about right. I still think Google is the one to watch, though. It is much easier to translate success in one industry into a very closely related one, and Google is the hands-down king of search. AOL, well, they’re not really king of anything anymore.

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