Netscape (NSCP) announced today that its Netcenter portal is getting a makeover.
Netcenter 2.0's launch will showcase new personalization services, among other site improvements, as the company puts more emphasis on luring new visitors as well as maintaining the loyalty of the eyeballs they already have. Analysts say the company just might win out over other sites, since it can combine its content with the power of its browser technology.
"Netscape is aggressively going after that traffic, and this is a much stronger, more concerted effort," said Julia Pickar, analyst at Zona research.
Part of the news is that Netcenter will add its own personalized Web "start page," called My Netscape.
Netscape is convinced its personalized Web page offering will blow the doors off competitors like My Yahoo. "All of these personalization services have very timely content you can personalize and integrate -- technology news, stock quotes, and local weather," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of marketing at Netcenter. "The next evolution in personalized pages is integration of Web-based applications. This is very different from just a personalized news service."
The My Netscape interface resembles a desktop, with the usual news feeds, but adds Web-based apps like an address book, a Java-based calculator, and a service called Reference Desk, where users will have access to dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias, provided by still unnamed partners. An Internet search tool is also present.
The Web-based nature of these apps allows them -- as well as browser bookmarks -- to be accessed anywhere, from work, home, or any other computer. Netscape said that the potential to add more Web apps is endless.
The personalized My Netscape service will be accessible either through NetCenter or through the "Guide" button on the Navigator toolbar.
Along with the personal page additions, Netscape has added some tricks to Netcenter that will also make their way into an upcoming release of its Navigator browser.
A "smart browsing" feature could be a newbie's dream -- instead of entering cumbersome and even illogical URLs like "www.ford.com," users can enter keywords like "ford" and Netcenter will do its best to take you to the automaker's site.
Then, when checking out the new Ford Ranger, a user could click the "What's related" button, and up pop suggested links to related sites like Alldata's Automotive Bulletin; Kelley Blue Book; similar beastly trucks from GM, Chrysler, and Honda; as well as Netscape's Auto Channel by Excite.
Smart browsing, provided by Alexa Internet, like most of Netcenter's new features, can be added to the browser bar.
Netscape's announcement today combines all other recent additions to Netcenter resulting from Project 60 -- Netscape's 60-day timeframe to turn Netcenter from a 90-pound weakling into everyone's favorite beefy portal site.
Recent Netscape partners include search engines Excite and Lycos, content providers CNET and TMP of Monster Board fame, and USA.NET (providing free Web-based email services).
Significantly, last week Yahoo and Netscape said they were abandoning their Netscape Guide site by Yahoo.
Despite recent stats showing that Netscape's browser is losing more market share to IE 4, these additional browser and portal features could prove a stiff kick in Microsoft's shin.
"They are obviously trying to leverage their browser technology as much as possible," said analyst Pickar. "It's great, except they are going to need to be careful to not exclude IE users from benefiting from all the bells and whistles they are adding to their site and to the browser."
Pickar said that although Netscape has said both versions will be equal, "you can bet anything that they will be adding fancier features and more useful information to Navigator users."
