America Online to Introduce Next-Generation of AOL - AOL 5.0 - Later This Year
June 29, 1999 08:03 AM
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 1999--
To Take AOL Members to Next Level of Interactive Experience and Become Even More Central to Their Everyday Lives
Innovative New Welcome Screen to Offer Added Personalization With
"My Places" and Give Members Convenient Access to AOL's Newest
Features, Including "You've Got Pictures" and "My Calendar"
AOL 5.0 Will Automatically Deliver Rich Media Content When Members Connect Via Broadband
America Online today announced that it will soon introduce its next-generation software - AOL 5.0 - to take its members to the next level of the interactive experience and become even more central to their everyday lives, with a new Welcome Screen and exciting new features.
The new client will begin beta testing within the next few weeks and will roll out to the general AOL membership later this year.
Through an innovative new Welcome Screen, AOL 5.0 will provide immediate and convenient access to the service's newest and most popular features and will allow members to easily personalize their online experience. The AOL 5.0 Welcome Screen will deliver direct access to the AOL Channel Guide, e-mail - with new e-mail "signatures," top news headlines, weather, and sports. The new features and innovations showcased on the new AOL Welcome Screen will include:
-- "You've Got Pictures," developed in partnership with Eastman Kodak, will transform the way people look at pictures and make sharing photos with friends and family as easy as sending e-mail. The "You've Got Pictures" icon will appear, and the familiar AOL "You've Got Mail" voice will greet people with an audio message when their photos have arrived online. "You've Got Pictures" began testing in preview this week in 3 cities.
-- "My Calendar," the new, easy-to-use, interactive calendar that will allow members to plan and manage important parts of their life by tracking appointments, key dates and other personal events - all online.
-- The new "My Places" feature, that will allow members to personalize their AOL Welcome Screen with a list of sites they use most often.
-- And AOL Search, the all-new search product that will enable AOL members to search the entire Internet and AOL's exclusive content without having to leave the AOL service.
AOL 5.0 will support all available broadband technologies, as members begin to access the AOL service from a wider variety of speeds. When a member connects to the service through broadband access, AOL 5.0 will automatically deliver richer online content such as video, compelling catalogue online shopping, games, and even radio.
And AOL 5.0 will extend another "AOL Anywhere" initiative by offering e-mail functionality for the Palm Computing(R) platform. This will enable AOL members to send and receive mail via their AOL accounts from 3Com's industry-leading handheld organizers.
Bob Pittman, President and Chief Operating Officer of America Online, said: "Once again, we relied heavily on member feedback and suggestions to guide the development of this product, with several new features evolving as a result of member input. With 5.0, AOL will extend its lead as the best value in cyberspace and makes AOL even more central to people's daily lives. Imagine, for example, the excitement of hearing 'You've Got Pictures!' and being able to instantly share photos with friends and family."
Mr. Pittman continued: "AOL 5.0 builds on the incredible success of AOL 4.0. It is positioned to begin delivering the next-generation interactive experience to our members - who will be accessing the service in a variety of ways. What we have found is that the members who access AOL through a broadband connection in one location -- whether at work or home -- also use narrowband when they are traveling or are in a different location than their broadband connection. So if a member connects to AOL using broadband access, AOL 5.0 will be able to deliver broadband-enriched content and features. This means AOL members will have a great experience no matter how they connect to AOL."
AOL 5.0 to Boost Member Experience to Next Level of Convenience and Ease-of-Use
AOL relied heavily on member feedback and suggestions to guide the development of this product. As a result of these member suggestions, AOL 5.0 will:
-- Enable members to retrieve recently deleted e-mail from the Mail Center for up to 24 hours;
-- Allow members to more easily save and transfer the information from their "Address Book" and "Favorite Places" to another computer;
-- Provide added convenience so members can locate and open downloaded e-mail files more easily through the new AOL 5.0 "Locate" feature; and
-- Permit members to "sign" personal or business e-mail correspondence, using the new e-mail "signature file," with virtual signatures tailored to how they utilize their screen names.
AOL 5.0 will offer members faster registration, easier service setup and will enable them to more efficiently edit their local access number list.
AOL members will receive expedited member service assistance through a feature that delivers important information about the members' computer configurations as they speak with Member Services representatives. And AOL 5.0 will give members the ability to switch screen names in "Auto AOL" flash sessions without redialing - which will make it easier for members who are traveling or using AOL internationally, where connection charges may be expensive.
The latest version of Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer 5.0, will be integrated into AOL 5.0 - offering members seamless access for exploring the Internet.
Jonathan Sacks, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AOL service, said: "We are committed to delivering the easiest and most convenient Internet experience available. Throughout the development of the new AOL 5.0, we challenged ourselves to develop a product that met that goal and will take our members' interactive experience to the next level. AOL 5.0 effectively meets this challenge in many ways, ranging from added personalization to making it easier for members to register for the service and improving the way they get help from Member Services."
Mr. Sacks continued: "AOL 5.0's new Welcome Screen will give members direct access to what they use most everyday, including news, sports, and weather. It also puts some of AOL's most exciting new convenience applications right on the first screen members see when logging on. These features include "You've Got Pictures" and "My Calendar," which will give members more ways to personalize their online experience and will change the way people organize their lives. These innovative new features are the first major steps toward the next wave of interactive services that will make AOL even more valuable to our members' lives."
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 17 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; and AOL MovieFone, the nation's No. 1 movie listing guide and ticketing service.
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.
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