Should I give AOL Mobile a fair shake?

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: KEITH SHAW ON WIRELESS COMPUTING
DEVICES
08/23/05
Today's focus: Should I give AOL Mobile a fair shake?

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* A visit to AOL's mobile portal and WAP2 site
* Links related to Wireless Computing Devices
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponosred by Arbor Networks
Special Report: Internal Intrusion Prevention: Providing
Network Security Inside the Perimeter

In order to meet the demands of today's enterprise IT
infrastructures, enterprises must deploy the right solution for
mitigating threats that target internal resources. This paper
discusses the requirements for enterprise-wide network security
- to monitor, analyze, and react to threats across the network
in real-time.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110818
_______________________________________________________________
MOOCHING WI-FI

Have you ever connected to an open wireless network that you
knew was not yours? Aside from the moral question, identity
theft, eavesdropping and virus attacks could be real security
concerns when connecting via an open access point. Find out why
the debate rages over mooching Wi-Fi. Click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110669
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Should I give AOL Mobile a fair shake?

By Keith Shaw

I'll put the disclaimer up front: Way back in the early '90s, I
was one of the early users of AOL, back when it was a dial-up
service and only available on Macintosh computers. If anyone was
an earlier user, send me e-mail and we'll compare notes.

That said, I've long since graduated to the "regular" Internet
and pay casual attention to AOL in terms of knowing that my
non-computer-literate cousin probably still uses the service to
send out her e-mail (including attaching giant photos of her new
baby).

So I chuckled a bit when I saw the announcement that AOL was
getting into the mobile phone space with its AOLMobile.com
<http://www.aolmobile.com/> mobile portal and associated WAP2
site ( click here <http://mobile.aol.com/> if you want to
access it through a Treo 650). My first thought on seeing the
URL for Treo users was that if someone already owned a Treo 650,
then they probably wouldn't need to access an AOL site, but I'm
keeping an open mind. I decided to view the sites to see if
there was anything that a jaded Internet guy like me could learn
from AOL about mobile phones.

The mobile portal is basically a Web site with content about
mobile phones, services and accessories. The site includes a
"Learn How" section where you can learn about what's on today's
mobile phones, as well as the differences between carrier plans.
Through this site, I learned that "with cell phones you are
using your minutes any time you are using the phone, even if you
are just receiving a phone call or checking your voicemail."

The rest of the site is a mixture of advertisements for phone
applications and other mobile AOL applications, such as
reminders that can be sent to your cell phone, ringtones,
wallpapers, etc. You can also buy a cell phone and carrier plan
through the site if you so desire.

The WAP2 portal includes a mobile search engine (currently in
beta) with clickable hyperlinks to make mobile search more
useful, a news section, weather, sports, entertainment and
yellow pages information. On a Tuesday night, the second sports
headline was a story from the previous Saturday night - I guess
they don't actually update the news that often. At least my
horoscope in the entertainment section was interesting: "You may
receive an opportunity to travel with a loved one, but even if
this doesn't materialize, remember that you can also travel
within the realms of your imagination."

The value for AOL members who own a cell phone will be to use
the portal to access their stored photo albums and pictures with
AOL Pictures; and to access their AOL e-mail through a mobile
phone (as well as the AIM Mail free Web mail service when that
launches).

In the end, I'm afraid that I didn't really get that much out of
the new sites, but AOL will probably make a ton of money off
them, so AOL will get the last laugh. As with the AOL Internet
service, there are Web sites, mobile portals and applications
that do much better, but maybe my cousin will feel better about
getting a cell phone after viewing this site. If she asks me
about what cell phone to get, I could always just direct her to
that site.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco preparing management play
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmobile5636>

2. VoIP security threats: Fact or fiction?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmobile3790>

3. Questions surround smartphone security
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmobile5637>

4. CLECs play a new tune
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmobile5638>

5. Google goes berserk
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmobile5400>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Cisco preparing management play
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlmobile5639>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Keith Shaw

Keith Shaw is Senior Editor, Product Testing, at Network World.
In addition, he writes the " Cool Tools
<http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/cooltools.html> "
column, which looks at gizmos, gadgets and other mobile
computing devices.

You can reach Keith at <mailto:kshaw@nww.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponosred by Arbor Networks
Special Report: Internal Intrusion Prevention: Providing
Network Security Inside the Perimeter

In order to meet the demands of today's enterprise IT
infrastructures, enterprises must deploy the right solution for
mitigating threats that target internal resources. This paper
discusses the requirements for enterprise-wide network security
- to monitor, analyze, and react to threats across the network
in real-time.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110817
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Wireless Computing Devices newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/mobile/index.html

Keith Shaw's Cool Tools:
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/cooltools.html
_______________________________________________________________
The wireless of today and tomorrow

Wireless technology is evolving quickly. Find out how to pick
tomorrow's technology today.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110757
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE
WIRELESS LANS BUYER'S GUIDE: THE GOODS ON 185 PRODUCTS

We've compiled the largest buyer's guide ever on wireless LAN
equipment. Whether you're looking for an access point, PC Card
or trying to decide between 802.11a, b or g, take a look at the
information that vendors have provided us. We've got the goods
on 185 products. Click here for more:
<http://www.networkworld.com/bg/wlan/index.jsp>
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