AOL's problem is it largely depends on two declining sources of traffic, people who use AOL to get online and Web-based AOL.com email users.
The numbers seem to show declines in Web-based email aren't worth fighting. Teens don't like to use email and older adults check their email in apps on their phones.
Across the entire Internet, Web-based email was up a mere 1% in September 2012 over September 2011. AOL Mail is down 8%. Yahoo Mail is down 16%. Hotmail is down 18%.
But there is one piece of evidence that shows good Web-based email design can still attract new users, if only from other services.
That evidence: Google's widely-lauded Web-based email product, Gmail, is up 14% year-over-year.
And so, in an effort to recapture some of that audience, AOL has released a new Web-based email app.
It's called Alto.
It's not a Web-based email provider. There are no @alto.com email addresses yet.
Alto is an inbox-replacement for your current email address. You can read your Gmail and Yahoo Mail there. You can also import Facebook and Twitter content.
If Alto works, it could solve one of AOL's biggest problems: attracting new users on the Web.
So, does it work? We spent an afternoon with it and would love to show you around the product.
Alto works with AOL mail, Gmail, Yahoo mail, and iCloud. The first step is picking which one you use.
After a tiny amount of set-up (connecting Facebook and Google), it's time to check out the Alto inbox…
…here it is!
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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