AOL plans spring launch for
Netscape 6.0
By Jim Hu
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 11, 2000, 1:50 p.m. PT
Netscape Communications is preparing to unveil a new Web
browser that will include integration with AOL Instant Messenger and the ability to
let Web sites create custom-branded versions.
Netscape 6.0, previewed last night by AOL president of interactive services Barry Schuler
during a financial analysts' meeting in New York, is the first completely new browser
software from Netscape Communications since its acquisition by AOL in November 1998.
The company plans to launch the software this spring, according to AOL spokeswoman
Anne Bentley.
Netscape missed shipment of its fifth-generation Communicator browser last summer and
has since seen the existing 4.7 version lose market share to Microsoft's rival Internet
Explorer. Studies have shown that corporate users are increasingly migrating to IE.
The new browser looks similar to Communicator 4.7, with some noticeable differences,
according to Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget, who attended the AOL briefing.
Netscape 6.0 will have several Web applications integrated
into the browser, such as AOL's popular Instant Messenger
software, Blodget said.
But the most notable difference is the way AOL said it will
distribute the product, according to Blodget. The company
plans to allow Web sites to launch their own branded
versions of the browser, a strategic shift from its current
strategy of keeping its technology squarely
Netscape-branded.
The new policy means that Web sites can offer visitors
customized browser versions as a way to draw and retain
users and build brand loyalty.
According to Blodget, AOL highlighted this strategy by showing ways in which Time
Warner's media and entertainment properties could use the browser.
AOL announced last month that it will merge with Time Warner. Should
the combination go through, AOL will control Time Warner's vast array
of content, giving the company a broad launching pad for Netscape 6.0.
"CNN, for example, can create a CNN starter icon and a browser that is
customized to work very well with CNN content," Blodget said in an
interview.
Netscape 6.0's technology also will support AOL's moves onto non-PC devices, according
to Bentley. AOL is trying to push its service onto PDAs, cell phones, TV set-top boxes
and other remote products as a way to keep its customers on its services.
Until now, Netscape has relied partly on its open-source development organization,
Mozilla.org, to speed development of its Communicator browser, with volunteers and paid
developers refining the product.
But despite Mozilla's efforts, AOL has acknowledged that it has been late in updating its
browser technology. Schuler said in a previous interview that AOL had
planned to unveil its new browser strategy shortly before the new year.
The Netscape 6.0 preview coincided with last night's demonstration of
AOL TV, the company's interactive television product. The service
allows users to enhance their television viewing with more Internet-like
features; its accompanying set-top boxes will be released this summer.
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