AOL may be losing points in a customer satisfaction survey for Internet portal usage released today by the ASCI, but it is still looking for gold in the emerging mobile Internet. Today, the company is releasing a revamped beta version of its mobile search service. The most salient feature is a keyword/tab combination that streamlines the amount of typing needed to get a search result. (Google apparently is also trying to work on a way of minimizing the amount of work a mobile user needs to do to search.) Search results will incorporate content sourced from other AOL online properties, for example MapQuest’s maps, local listings from CityGuide and movie times from Moviefone.
One of the other new services will be an integrated Click2Call feature, which allows users to tap/highlight phone numbers generated by a search and call them automatically. GigaOM points out that this feature will not only drive additional revenues for AOL but will “appease the carriers” since it will encourage more airtime usage — not to mention that it will probably be more convenient to users. There will also be ads embedded from Third Screen Media, which AOL bought earlier this year.
The only devices supported so far as those running Windows Mobile but other platforms will be integrated in future. Expect rivals who want to also stake a claim in the mobile search arena — including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and others — to step up their search product releases in response.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2007\/08\/14\/419-aol-launches-new-mobile-search\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_a05087d090de84050436076ce9d7742a","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}