America Online Goes Wireless.( BW)(VA-AMERICA-ONLINE)(AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. ) America Online See AOL. Goes Wireless Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2000 Major Advance in "AOL Anywhere" Strategy as World Leader in Interactive Services Announces 6 Agreements with Top Wireless Data Carriers, Device and Mobile Phone Manufacturers Millions of Wireless Consumers Will Gain Convenient Access to Leading AOL Brands and Services like AOL E-Mail and AOL Instant Messenger See AIM. America Online, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AOL) today announced its plans to deliver popular AOL features and services to millions of wireless consumers through a series of agreements with top wireless data carriers, device, and mobile phone manufacturers. These agreements mark a major advance in the Company's "AOL Anywhere"(sm) strategy to make AOL's industry-leading brands and features available to online consumers across a range of devices. AOL's 21 million members and tens of millions of consumers of its other Web brands, and millions of wireless consumers, will be able to use their mobile devices to access AOL e-mail, instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or and several other of AOL's valuable and consumer-friendly services, such as news, financial information, movie information and driving directions. Today's announcements include the new "AOL Mobile Messenger" service, which will offer wireless access to AOL's popular e-mail and Instant Messenger AOL's instant messaging service. See AIM and instant messaging. [AIM] applications over personal, mobile paging devices. With today's announcements, consumers will be able to find popular AOL products and services through wireless relationships with: -- Sprint PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. : America Online has joined with Sprint PCS, the nation's fastest growing wireless service provider, to deliver 'AOL Wireless' content and services to millions of consumers via Sprint PCS Internet-ready Phones. Sprint PCS customers nationwide will have clear access to many of AOL's best-known features and content directly on Sprint PCS Internet-ready Phones. -- Nokia: Nokia and America Online plan to develop a version of the AOL Instant Messenger service for a variety of Nokia's wireless handheld devices. -- Motorola: America Online and Motorola plan to deliver AOL Mobile Messenger services over a full array of Motorola wireless devices. -- Research in Motion: America Online selected the Research in Motion (RIM) two-way Internet appliance Also called "information appliance," "smart appliance," and "Web appliance," it is a device specialized for accessing the Web and/or e-mail. Designed for ease of use, it plugs into a telephone jack or LAN connection for Internet hookup. to offer its AOL Mobile Messenger service via a customized, AOL-branded, RIM handheld device. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products includes the BlackBerry(tm) wireless e-mail solution. -- BellSouth: America Online will use the BellSouth network in its new AOL Mobile Messenger service and plans to offer AOL's e-mail and AOL Instant Messenger [AIM] service to consumers using BellSouth Intelligent Wireless Network-enabled devices. -- Arch Communications: AOL has selected Arch to provide two-way wireless messaging capabilities for its new AOL Mobile Messenger service and plans to offer AOL's e-mail and AOL Instant Messenge services to consumers using devices enabled with Arch's messaging capabilities. Steve Case Steve Case (born August 21, 1958) is a businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). He reached his highest profile when he played an instrumental role in AOL's merger with Time Warner in 2000. , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of America Online, said: "Today's wireless announcements are a major step forward for the AOL Anywhere strategy -- allowing consumers to be connected anywhere any time with the ease that they have become accustomed to with the AOL service on a PC. Whether they use their PC, an Internet-ready phone or a pager, consumers want to find a solution that will allow them to easily and conveniently access the information they need. "There's no question that we're on the eve On the Eve (Накануне in Russian) is the third novel by famous Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, best known for his short stories and the novel Fathers and Sons. of an explosion in consumers' move to wireless and how they use interactive devices. Our goal is to ensure that this wireless revolution will be both easy and accessible for our 21 million members, plus the tens of millions of consumers that use of our Web brands and millions of other consumers accessing the Internet via the wireless platform." AOL members already spend more than an hour a day online every day, AOL members send over 110 million emails; and 1 billion instant messages are sent every day by AOL members and users of its Web-based brands. AOL's 21 million users are a prime potential market for new wireless devices and services with roughly 70% of AOL households owning a cell phone, pager, or both devices, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Simmons research. In addition, the 1999 AOL-Roper Starch Cyberstudy indicated that the longer people are online, the more likely they are to access their Internet account from outside the home. Bob Pittman, President and Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of America Online, said: "The goal of our AOL Anywhere strategy has always been to make the world's most popular AOL interactive brands, services and features available wherever and whenever consumers want to find them. Today's wireless announcements show that AOL Anywhere is here for mass market consumers nationwide. AOL Anywhere will drive the online medium to yet another level through AOL Wireless and upcoming products like AOL TV-- making interactivity even more accessible and valuable to consumers and creating exciting new businesses opportunities. We and our industry-leading wireless partners are committed to making many of AOL's industry-leading brands and services -- from AOL e-mail and AOL Instant Messenger to stock quotes and localized entertainment information -- conveniently and easily accessible over Internet-ready phones and other wireless devices. Using popular AOL brands and services, consumers will be able to conveniently and easily use various wireless platforms to: -- Access their AOL e-mail, check their Buddy List A list of colleagues, workgroup members, friends, etc., that you might wish to communicate with via instant messaging. See instant messaging. , or trade real-time messages with friends and family using AOL Instant Messenger; -- Get driving directions, check traffic, or find a nearby gas-station, restaurant, hotel or ATM using Mapquest.com, the #1 online mapping service; -- Follow their personal portfolio or request a stock quote -- AOL's Personal Finance channel already delivers roughly 200 million each day; -- Check local movie times and buy tickets on the fly using MovieFone, the #1 movie ticketing service; -- Find the best restaurants, clubs, and other local entertainment information using Digital City, the #1 local online city guide network; or -- Send a message or enter regular English words using Tegic's #1 keypad data technology on a touch tone phone. Dennis Patrick, President of AOL Wireless, said: "Research indicates that total wireless subscribers will hit 1.26 billion by 2005, up from 469 million at year end 1999 and that by 2003 a third of all Internet users will also be accessing the Internet via mobile devices.(a) As the wireless revolution approaches, there's no other company that can deliver the convenience, ease-of-use and value in a wireless suite of services like America Online can. From e-mail to instant messaging, from online mapping to local city guides, AOL has the world's most popular services, leading brands, and best content. More important, AOL has a proven track record of integrating those features in a way that makes them simple and fun for the consumer. We're delighted to work with these leading wireless companies as we introduce these exciting wireless features and devices to millions of new users." America Online also announced today that the industry leading content and services of AOL Digital City will become available to wireless consumers in 60 cities next month. Digital City Wireless will offer an easy-to-use complete guide to the town with thousands of expert and member restaurant reviews, movie times, and a guide to live music and clubs --all with one-click dialing of venues. Special features include personalization, custom alerts and a simple "What's Nearby" application. Additionally, America Online, Inc. said that it has joined the WAP Forum (Wireless Application Protocol Forum, Mountain View, CA, www.wapforum.org) An organization founded in 1997 to promote a wireless standard for smartphones and mobile terminals. In 2002, it merged into the Open Mobile Alliance. See OMA and WAP. . The WAP Forum members number over 200 and consist of carriers, terminal and infrastructure manufacturers, software houses, content providers and companies developing services and applications for mobile devices. These groups are engaged in developing open Wireless Application Protocol ("WAP (1) (Wireless Access Point) See access point. (2) (Wireless Application Protocol) A standard for providing cellular phones, pagers and other handheld devices with secure access to e-mail and text-based Web pages. ") standards to facilitate access to internet content from new, wireless telephones which employ micro-browsers. European Initiatives The Company has also been advancing its wireless strategy internationally. AOL Europe, a joint venture between America Online and Bertelsmann AG Bertelsmann AG German media company. Beginning as a religious printer and publisher in 1835, the company grew steadily over the next century. Though virtually destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945, it recovered quickly after World War II. , made several wireless announcements in recent weeks, including agreements with Nokia, Ericsson and RTS (Request To Send) An RS-232 signal sent from the transmitting station to the receiving station requesting permission to transmit. Contrast with CTS. 1. (operating system) RTS - run-time system. 2. Wireless to ensure its Mobile Portals are compatible with current SMS (1) (Storage Management System) Software used to routinely back up and archive files. See HSM. (2) (Systems Management Server) Systems management software from Microsoft that runs on Windows NT Server. and WAP protocols and handsets, as well as next-generation General Packet Radio Service (GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) The first high-speed digital data service provided by cellular carriers that used the GSM technology. GPRS added a packet-switched channel to GSM, which uses dedicated, circuit-switched channels for voice conversations. ). In addition, AOL Europe announced its active participation in the WAP Forum, the industry association that has developed the de-facto world standard for fast and easy delivery of information and telephony services on digital mobile phones and other wireless terminals, as well the GPRS Application Alliance, a standards-setting body for next-generation General Packet Radio Service WAP services. AOL Europe showcased prototype WAP and SMS services at the CeBIT 2000 Fair in Hanover, Germany. Tegic Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of AOL, also announced at CeBIT, strategic partnerships with Panasonic, Sony and Telit to integrate Tegic's T9(R) Text Input software into its newest mobile phones to enable quick and easy SMS messages and Internet mail. Steve Case to Keynote at CTIA (1) See CompTIA. (2) (Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, Washington, DC, www.ctia.org, www.wow-com.com) A membership organization founded in 1984 that is involved with regulatory and public affairs issues in the wireless industry. On Wednesday, AOL Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Steve Case will take part in a further discussion of emerging wireless issues and trends with Tom Wheeler, President of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association See TIA. (body, standard) Telecommunications Industry Association - (TIA) An association that sets standards for communications cabling. Cables that TIA set standards for include: EIA/TIA-568A and EIA/TIA-568B category three, four and five cable. . That keynote discussion will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is a collection of buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana. The lower end of building one is located 500 m (1640 feet) upriver from Canal Street on the banks of the Mississippi River. Named after former mayor of New Orleans Ernest N. in New Orleans, Louisiana. Information about and demonstrations of many of AOL's wireless services and features will be available at the AOL booth in the convention center. About America Online, Inc. Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 21 million members, and CompuServe, with more than 2.5 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ ("I Seek You") A conferencing program for the Internet from Mirabilis, Tel Aviv, Israel (www.icq.com). It provides interactive chat, e-mail and file transfer and can alert you when someone on your predefined list has also come online. , AOL Instant Messenger and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; AOL MovieFone, the nation's #1 movie listing guide and ticketing service; and Spinner.com and NullSoft's Winamp, leaders in Internet music. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy. (a) Research from The Yankee Group and Thos. Weisel Partners. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion