Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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[WHEN PHONES WERE FUN: AOL MOBILE COMMUNICATOR, 2001]

If you were a middle-class US citizen getting your first taste of the internet around the turn of the century, odds are the ISP on the other side of your modem was America Online, which since 1993 had bombarded every mailbox and retail counter with enough free-trial disks to amass a market value of over $200 billion at its peak.

But AOL wasn’t content to stay synonymous with the desktop internet. In 2000, it tried to redefine what it meant to “be online” by selling a rebadged BlackBerry that would live alongside the phone on your belt ... so that you would never have to be offline. This is the story of the AOL Mobile Communicator.


[SUBSCRIBE TO MRMOBILE]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSOp...


[ABOUT WHEN PHONES WERE FUN – AOL MOBILE COMMUNICATOR]

This is the sixteenth in a series of MrMobile videos exploring the mobile tech world's most vibrant period in design and experimentation. In “When Phones Were Fun,” Michael Fisher re-reviews cellphones from the golden age of mobile, the decade-long span from the turn of the century to approximately 2009.

When Phones Were Fun: Episode 16 features two AOL Mobile Communicator devices purchased by MrMobile / Future plc and one COMPAQ-branded BlackBerry Inter@ctive Pager 950 on loan from an anonymous friend of the channel. No manufacturer or carrier paid a fee or otherwise offered compensation in exchange for this coverage (nor did any such company preview or approve this content before publication).


[LINKS - BOOKS]

Losing The Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry [Amazon]:
amazon.com/Losing-Signal-Extraordinary-Spectacular-BlackBerry-ebook/dp/B00Q20ASVS

Harvesting The BlackBerry: An Insider’s Perspective [Google Books]:
google.com/books/edition/Harvesting_the_Blackberry/oSaoNQcFTzMC?hl=en


[LINKS - PRINT]

PCMag, February 2001 [Google Books]:
books.google.com/books?id=B1w4ife5noQC

Popular Mechanics, August 2001 [Google Books]:
books.google.com/books?id=bc8DAAAAMBAJ

RadioShack Catalog 1999 [RadioShackCatalogs.com]:
radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1999_radioshack_catalog.html


[LINKS - WEB]

AOL Mobile Communicator – A Piece Of History! [Idealistically Caspan]:
caspan.com/2016/02/aol-mobile-communicator-a-piece-of-history

AOL Mobile Communicator User Guide [Archive.org]:
web.archive.org/web/20081011090515/http://help.anywhere.aol.com

Wireless Data: An Opinionated Buyer’s Guide [Forbes]:
forbes.com/2001/03/15/130.html?sh=6311ca4a772d

AOL Mobile Communicator Review [PCMag]:
uk.pcmag.com/first-looks/31822/aol-mobile-communicator

AOL Mobile Communicator Review [BetaNews]:
betanews.com/2001/02/12/review-you-ve-got-aol-mobile-communicator

AOL Anywhere:
tvtechnology.com/opinions/its-not-just-cable-its-aol-anywhere

RIM BlackBerry 950 Review [The-Gadgeteer]:
the-gadgeteer.com/2001/02/26/rim_blackberry_950_review

AOL Mobile Communicator vs RIM BlackBerry 950 [FlyerTalk]:
flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/282717-anyone-use-blackberry-device-2.html

AOL Cuts Mobile Communicator Price [ZDNet]:
zdnet.com/article/aol-cuts-mobile-communicator-price

AOL Mobile Communicator Going Dark [e-Week]:
eweek.com/mobile/aol-mobile-communicator-going-dark

AOL Anywhere arrives, giving users expanded access [Chicago Tribune]:
chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-02-04-0102040346-story.html


[LINKS - VIDEO]

AOL Mobile Communicator Commercials:

youtu.be/P19ehtaDBqg
youtu.be/rW5OjAMtHLo

AOL Commercials:

youtu.be/1npzZu83AfU
youtube.com/watch?v=4iGJMdkkicE

AOL Dial-up Sequence:
youtube.com/watch?v=D1UY7eDRXrs

Interview: Frank Sandtner [TWICE]:
youtu.be/D3A4XlN5cSI


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[DISCLOSURES]

This post may contain affiliate links, which afford MrMobile / Future plc a commission if you make a purchase.

Additional information concerning MrMobile’s ethics policy can be found here: https://mrmobile.tech/ethics

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