AOL Available Wirelessly, Adds Mobile Sales Portal

America Online Inc. has made its content available to mobile Web users, and has launched AOLMobile.com, a mobile distribution portal where users can buy wireless service and content, customized according to their specific phone model and service provider configurations. It’s also a mobile home base where users can manage their wireless service accounts.

AOL users now can access AOLs news, weather, sports, mobile pictures and e-mail services through wireless devices, and can tap a search engine with links results and Yellow Page functionality.

Meanwhile, AOLMobile users register their phones in the privacy-protected site, and gain access to a range of options including My Mobile Dashboard, which provides a central place to manage cell phone features and preferences, such as IM forwarding, alerts and reminders.

Other functions include: AOLMobiles Top Picks feature, a ranking of the latest phones, ringtones and services. Each week, the Top Picks will give mobile users a one-stop shop to peruse mobile gadgets and services; Phone Finder, which simplifies the process of researching and buying cell phones by integrating phone model and carrier plan selection into one menu; and a deals section that presents users with the latest promotions and discounts available on phones, accessories and services;

An Account Management feature will be available later this year and will let AOL members check their mobile usage, pay cell service bills using AOL Bill Pay and add new features to their accounts as they become available. In the coming months it will also be available to AIM and general Web users.

The portal is enabled by InPhonic Inc., an online seller of wireless services and devices. The new AOLMobile.com site is all about personalization and simplification, says Rajive Mathur, vice president of AOLMobile.com. We designed it so that our members, registered users and Web users alike can easily learn about the phones, services, features and accessories that are available and best suited to meet their needs.