America Online Inc. Wednesday made a major investment in its wireless strategy, purchasing wireless data solution player Tegic Communications.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AOL (AOL) will use the acquisition of the to offer e-mail and to develop Internet messaging solutions through mobile phones and wireless devices, all under its “AOL Anywhere” strategy.
Tegic, which creates text entry solutions for e-mail transmissions on wireless gadgets, will offer its T9 Text Imput software to allow AOL users to send e-mail through Short Messaging Services and wireless application protocol technology. The solution also boasts single-touch typing on a phone keypad for ease of use.
T9 is available in 14 languages, and Tegic already claims 90 percent of the world market for text input software. The companies intend to add additional language support as part of new capability plans, which also include new features, new input modalities, and functionality on a wider range of devices.
In previous moves for the AOL Anywhere strategy, AOL last month teamed with Motorola (MOT) to develop a new version of the AOL Instant Messenger that will be integrated into Motorola’s smart wireless devices.
A recent deal with Radiant Systems Inc. will bring AOL services to retail locations such as movie theatres, gas stations, restaurants and stores.
