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Speed of ISP connection:
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Connection Reliability:
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Service & Support:
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I began using AOL through the company I work for, so it was free. In the meantime, I had SBC Yahoo DSL at home (If you’d like, you can check out my review on SBC Yahoo DSL, entitled “DSL is
so Swell.”)
After I moved, DSL wasn’t offered in my new area so I used my existing AOL dial up account that my business gave me. Now you may think I’ll be biased with this AOL dial up review because I had DSL, but I promise I won’t compare them because they are total opposites.
The Installation Process:
Installing AOL was simple and it took me less than ten minutes. I didn’t have to call for technical support because everything went smoothly. All you have to do is insert a free AOL trial cd and the directions show up on the screen step by step. You can find a trial cd in your mailbox, at school (college), or at your local grocery store by the checkout lines.
Downloading the Goods:
After installing AOL, I began downloading Instant Messenger and music files with the 56K modem that I have. For a program such as Instant Messenger, it took me about 15 minutes for the download to complete. Each music file/song I downloaded took me the longest time at about 1 hour per song. Ouch!
Features:
As an AOL (paid)member, you can get free email addresses, chat, Instant Messenger (where you talk to friends one on one by typing messages back and forth), a personal homepage, parental controls, news briefs, online greeting capabilities, and the best, AOL keyword. AOL keyword allows you to go to a specific search that AOL provides for you. For instance, if you saw a movie trailer on the movie “Along Came Polly,” and at the end of the trailer, it said, “AOL keyword, “AlongCamePolly,” you would type it in like that while you’re connected to AOL and AOL would take you to the specific page dedicated to that search.
My Complaints:
I really try to stay away from using AOL as much as possible. I also have SBC dial-up and I rely on the connection more often. When I use AOL, however, sometimes I cannot make a connection, receiving a message on my screen that says something such as “Attempt 1: Cannot locate modem,” or Attempt 2: Busy.” I know this can happen with any dial-up provider, but it doesn’t happen nearly as often as it does with AOL.
AOL is also a homepage hog. I hate the fact that AOL “minimizes” (ie. making any web page smaller than your actual computer screen allows) every page you go to except their own homepage. Say, for instance, I go to blablabla.com. When the website shows up, the page loads on top of AOL’s homepage instead of taking over the whole screen. A plus for some? A minus to me! It’s annoying! Then, sometimes if I click the “X” to get rid of a webpage, AOL will disconnect me, assuming that I want to log off.
Another minus in my book is the fact that AOL has so many pop up porn ads. When my friends are over, they actually think I’m checking out porn because it keeps popping up on my screen. Porn or no porn, it’s the fact that I’m interrupted by what I’m doing to close a stupid popup ad, no matter what it is.
Something good….hmmmmmm…..:
Content-wise AOL has a great homepage, even though I had a complaint about it earlier in this review. The contents are great, giving you your “you’ve got mail” cue, a quick look at your home town weather, and great headlines on sports, entertainment, gossip, and political news. There really is something for everyone if you can actually stay online without getting kicked off.
Price:
Since I received AOL for free at work, I really wouldn’t want to give you the wrong facts about the current prices of AOL dial-up and AOL broadband. I know for a fact, though, that my Yahoo dial-up (that I pay for myself) is cheaper at $9.99 a month because I’m a returning/continuing customer. I’ve heard AOL dial-up is a bit pricier than this, but I would double check with someone else’s epinion review because I’m not sure the exact cost.
Customer Service:
AOL customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced compared to MSN, yahoo, and Juno, all of which I have dealt with. Yahoo is the best, giving you live customer service around the clock. With AOL, however, if you DARE to call them during their most busy hours, you will get a cute little message telling you that “due to their experience of high call volume, they’ll need you to call back at a later time.” Then they hang up. And your 20 valuable minutes of hoping that a rep will answer the phone suddenly goes down the tubes.
My made-up questionnaire:
Would I recommend AOL to anyone?..............No, unless it’s free like in my case.
Do the pages load relatively faster than other dial-ups?..................No
Are the email options/storage capability suitable?.......Yes, for personal use only
How many tries before you get a connection?.........usually 2
Best feature?.....................Instant Messenger (finally something innovative and useful!)
Odds of getting kicked off……………very good in a one hour block
Any other questions, please contact me at anae428@yahoo.com. I’d be glad to help. - Ana
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Pros: |
mine was free
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Cons: |
many kick-offs
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How useful was this review?
(Rate Review - Earn 5 MS-Points™)
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Purchase Price (INR):
free
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