Alto Delivers the Message at CES

Every year, CES is brings together the tech community to celebrate the best innovations in the business – so what better platform to talk about AOL’s re-invention of email: Alto.

In my Digital Hollywood panel on Monday, I had the opportunity to talk about how email has changed massively over the past twenty years: beginning as something that was desktop-driven and solely about communication, to something that is now many services in one, consumed across various screens.  Email has evolved into a jack-of-all-trades tool.  Along with the increasing volume and types of mail (daily deals, social notifications, retail emails, receipts, bills, etc) we receive on a daily basis, we are also using mail for file-sharing, photo-sharing, archiving files, planning events and much more.  Existing clients were not built for these uses – that's why AOL built Alto.  

During the panel, we also discussed how mail and mobile go hand-in-hand and why it's essential that we provide Alto across all screens.  Convincing consumers to try a new app or service is a challenge. It's even more of a challenge for mail, since Android and iOS devices all come with a default email client.  But we feel good about Alto as it blends powerful organizational features and an elegant, clear user experience – putting users back in control of their email experience.  

We also showed off Alto at PEPCOM’s Digital Experience, a media event that displays the latest in televisions, audio, computers, software, tablets, smartphones, apps, GPS, videogames, toys, gadgets, and many other technologies.  Many folks were interested to see the app as they hadn't yet had a chance to get access and try it out (Alto is still in a private beta).  Feedback was positive and in general, reporters were aware of Alto: we're in the mix and part of the conversation.  Not surprisingly, many were itching for a mobile Alto app.  

Keywords: CES, Tech