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From C/Net.com AOL dials up Web search for mobile phones

AOL is entering the mobile phone Internet search fray, testing a new service in the United States that will allow most cell phone users to search for Web content and local merchant information and do shopping comparisons all on their handsets (wonder if you can input a barcode for price compare :))

Type http://mobile.aolsearch.com to see it for yourself

The new AOL Mobile Search Services will give mobile users access to the AOL Search service, Pinpoint Shopping Search and AOL Yellow Pages. It is available on any Wireless Application Protocol-enabled phone, which is the majority of the mobile phones on the market, said Himesh Bhise, general manager of AOL Mobile.

Using keywords, searchers receive a list of results to scroll through and can read the Web pages by clicking on a link. "It will have the same layout as on AOL Search on the desktop," Bhise said.

I still don't know why AOL doesn't tap into the 20m users it already has with a search feature through IM (instant messaging).

You can do a AOL Yellow Pages search now by sending an IM to "AOLYELLOWPAGES" and putting in subject of interest. Try it, it's fast.

Add another "buddy" called AOLMOVIE..

I envision video clips being sent through this feature very easily. Last I checked AOL was part of the largest media companies out there.

Send an IM to AOLMOVIE and get a 1 minute MMS about the upcoming Warner flick. There are numerous possibilities I have thought of with my AOL, DOA or AOK story.

Pinpoint Shopping allows users to quickly find information that helps them to compare products, prices and merchant reputations.

AOL Yellow Pages allows users to call merchants with one click and get a map and directions from MapQuest.

So maybe AOL isn't dead, but management's creativity is.