American Online on the Phoneline

One of the old dogs on the internet is learning some new tricks: America Online has announced today the opening of its new AIM Phoneline service to developers.

Through the Open AIM Phoneline initiative, device manufacturers and voice application developers have been encouraged to create new applications and tools that will “extend the value and functionality of the AIM Phoneline service.” AOL hopes to introduce such new features and peripherals to the clientele of 43 million-plus AIM users in the United States.

Under auspices of the program, AOL will introduce three new application programming interfaces in the fall that seek to allow developers and manufacturers the ability to personalize the AIM Phoneline service by adding ringback tones and unique ring tones; to enable USB devices such as speakerphones and phone adapters in order to incorporate standard cordless phones to initiate and receive calls with the AIM Phoneline service; and to build new call management functionality into the AIM Phoneline service such as context and relevance-based call handling.

At this week’s Fall VON 2006 in Boston, AOL will be showcasing examples using APIs iotum; an unnamed Voice 2.0 company that will show intelligent handling of incoming calls using the “iotum Relevance Engine”; and MyNuMo, an online content community that seek to enable artists to create, show, and sell digital content.

The hardware device API will also be featured, and Mvox Technologies will demonstrate examples of its hands free and wireless MV900 and USB MV100 speakerphones with AIM Phoneline. As part of the Open AIM Phoneline program, AOL will promote partners’ applications and devices at an online store that users can assess by simply clicking the “Shop” link on the AIM Phoneline dashboard.

AOL has gone on to open the Open AIM Phoneline Developers’ Challenge. Leveraging the Open AIM SDK, developers are encouraged to create applications that “will enhance the AIM Phoneline experience.” The winner will be determined by a panel of AOL judges, with prizes of US $3,500 and US $1,000 for the top two submissions. Enrollment and rules are available as of today at www.aimphoneline.com/developers. The contest runs through November 30, 2006, and the winners will be announced by January 31, 2007.

AOL and its subsidiaries operate a network of web brands (including AOL.com, AIM, MapQuest and Netscape) and an access subscription service in the United States. AOL also offers a range of digital services in the areas of education, safety and security, communications and music. The company also has operations in Europe and Canada. AOL LLC is a majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and is based in Dulles, Va.