Truveo Mobile video search opens in beta

AOL's Truveo has opened a mobile search site, culling results from 300 participating sites and moving AOL further into the mobile space where it intends to become an important fixture.

Earlier this year in Barcelona, AOL demonstrated its Open Mobile Platform concept, where it converted many of its Web properties into lightweight cross-platform applications and wrapped it together with AOL's Platform-A advertising services. This platform is based upon proprietary AOL technology common among many handsets, and is comprised of an XML-based markup language, a mobile device client, and an application server.

As an application for this platform, Truveo Mobile beta is supported by Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) capable handsets, which can be browsed on AOL Mobile for compatibility. It joins AOL's "Mobile Web" properties, which include Mapquest, Moviefone, and Winamp.

Earlier this summer, however, AOL terminated its MyMobile project in what were reported to be emergency budget cuts. That beta included several AOL services bundled into a single mobile application suite.

Shortly after that announcement, however, Truveo Video Search appeared in the iTunes App Store as a free iPhone application, which turned out to be quite popular and well-received. While this beta site is only compatible with several hundred handsets, it does place the AOL property in front of a wider audience, complete with Platform-A advertisements across the top of search results.