America Online just a made a curious move. It signaled a new intensity of interest in the ways of wireless this week by buying start-up technology firm Wildseed. Acquisitions are nothing new for AOL. In fact, most of the parent company's vast empire was built off one acquisition or another. But what's odd is that AOL has always been a content company. Its interest in the maker of handset technology and software could spell a new direction for the world's biggest ISP.

Not that AOL doesn't have investments in technology. There's Netscape for one, and in the wireless space AOL owns Tegic, the creator of the T9 text-entry software embedded in quite a few of the world's handsets. Those investments aside, however, AOL's goal has always been to get its content and applications before its base of users, and many of its software investments furthered that goal. The access mechanism itself--the PC or phone--was always left in the hands of others. Wildseed, though, is in the phone business. While it depends on OEM partners to build the devices, Wildseed creates a technology that allows users to graft content and applications directly onto generic phones through various themed "smart skins."

AOL is being quiet about what its exact plans for Wildseed's technology are, but it's a distinct possibility that AOL may be tired of dealing with the vendors and carriers and their competitive whimsies. In fact, this may be the first step AOL is taking to launch its own MVNO, complete with not only its own branding and content, but its very own handsets. Sure, it sounds like a long shot, but why fight to get space for AOL Instant Messenger on every carrier's handset alongside Yahoo and MSM when you can simply create the AOL phone?

Contact me at kfitchard@primediabusiness.com.