With its 2000 launch of AIM for mobile, AOL was one of the earliest portal companies to enter the wireless space. 

For the next few years, however, the company seemed to go a bit off track as it pursued the B2B mobile market. That's when, in the early 2000s, AOL acquired mobile software company Tegic Communications and mobile operating system company Wildseed. After a strategic review earlier this year, Time Warner-owned AOL decided to sell off those companies and refocus its gaze on the consumer market.

Since then, AOL has made its Cityguide, Moviefone, Mapquest, AOL Mail and search products available via mobile. In a nutshell, the company's mobile strategy consists of making its popular desktop features available and user friendly for mobile consumers, says AOL Mobile spokesperson Scott Falconer.

Falconer says AOL has established relationships with all of the major U.S. wireless carriers, as well as several international telcos, and is working with device manufacturers to provide consumer phones with pre-loaded AOL tools. These latter partnerships may prove especially valuable as AOL makes more of a media play in mobile as it develops its Winamp music and BlueString photo products for wireless use.

AOL's most important move in the mobile space to date may be its acquisition of Third Screen Media, a software and services company that enables mobile advertising and will provide an additional -- and likely significant -- revenue stream for the company.