DULLES, Va.-America Online Inc. announced last week it reached a licensing agreement to develop and market a Netscape-branded version of Nokia’s WAP microbrowser for use across various mobile devices.
“This agreement is a key component of our wireless strategy,” said Dennis Patrick, president of AOL wireless. “WAP is the most widely adopted wireless standard in the world among carriers and handset manufacturers and it makes sense for us to work to support that standard.” The companies said the agreement marks the first extension of the Netscape brand to the microbrowser market.
“AOL has the goal of being huge in the wireless space,” said Jane Zweig, executive vice president at Herschel Shosteck Associates Ltd. “The deal gives AOL a real foothold in the wireless space over companies like MSN and Yahoo.”
The deal could represent a blow to Openwave, the combination of Phone.com and Software.com. Nokia and Openwave are the largest competitors in the WAP microbrowser space. In August, Nokia stepped up its challenge in the WAP space when it released an upgraded microbrowser software package that included its source code with the license. The microbrowser is considered a small-ticket item that leads to the real pot of gold-WAP infrastructure.
