AOL Gives CompuServe a
Facelift
CompuServe 2000 adds features, partners with
AAA, and offers new $400 rebate on systems.
by Tom Spring, PC World
October 7, 1999, 4:33 p.m. PT
NEW YORK -- CompuServe says it's on the comeback
trail with the release of its CompuServe 2000 interface,
announced at Internet World here on Thursday.
The faded online champ, now owned by America
Online, introduced an update to its software featuring a
main menu redesign, a partnership with the American
Automobile Association, a $400 "instant" rebate with
the purchase of new PCs, and host of new features.
CompuServe 2000 reflects the company's "re-thinking"
of CompuServe and its new efforts to "re-position" the
Internet firm as a value-priced alternative to AOL, says
Audrey Weil, general manager of CompuServe.
So far, efforts have paid off, Weil says. She claims
CompuServe is the fastest growing Internet service
provider in the "value space," adding 300,000 new
members since February to hit a total of 2 million
members. CompuServe charges $9.95 for 20 hours of
service per month.
You've Got CompuServe 2000
CompuServe redesigned its main menu to offer ten new
"channels," and offers one-click links from the opening
screen to weather, stock quotes, and news. Its e-mail
features are enhanced so you can restore deleted
messages, and CompuServe now supports
16-character names (up from ten). Many of these
features mirrored those announced with the release of
AOL 5.0.
CompuServe also adds an expanded e-commerce
option called Shop@CompuServe and enhanced
search functions that let you scour both the Web and
CompuServe simultaneously (also like AOL 5.0). Other
features available with AOL 5.0, such as the "You've
Got Pictures" and enhanced content for broadband, will
be folded into CompuServe over time, Weil says.
CompuServe and the American Automobile Association
also announced a deal to bring co-branded Internet
access to 38 million AAA members. AAA members
can install a custom version of CompuServe that will
help them connect more efficiently with AAA services
and local clubs.
The service is scheduled to begin soon as a pilot
program in some AAA clubs, followed by a full U.S.
rollout in mid-2000.
CompuServe is releasing a similar co-branded version
of CompuServe 2000 for Thomas Regional Directory, a
publisher of industrial business-to-business information.
As part of its agreement with CompuServe, Thomas
Regional Directory will make its industrial buying
guides accessible to CompuServe subscribers.
In a separate deal, CompuServe has allied with retailer
CompUSA to offer a $400 instant rebate on a PC if you
sign up for three years of CompuServe 2000 Internet
access at $21.95 a month. The rebates will, for the first
time, also be available with purchases of Apple
computers. |
