Pogo – Will Content Delivery in 3D Make a Difference for AT&T?

So AT&T is launching a new browser based on Firefox called Pogo that will focus on 3D content delivery from the browser startup screen. This is a move to try and endear their broadband clients to their services since most customers these days apparently don’t remember who their internet service provider is.

My first question is how detailed have they been in identifying their customer base and is this really what customers want? If they are going after the Gen Y demographics then I think that that the 3D browser experience might make sense but it’s not a totally new concept so how much excitement will it really generate? If they are hoping this will be a “catch all” for their entire customer base to get excited about, I’m not so sure. Other companies have already launched 3D content “browsers” such as Apple’s “coverflow” feature and Windows Vista Flip3D and while it’s thought of as a “cool feature”, I don’t quite believe that it’s the big hook that AT&T is looking for to differentiate themselves in the broadband marketplace. While features like “coverflow” have their place in browsing photos for example, I personally find it less than efficient when managing content on a larger scale or anything other than photos. AT&T hasn’t divulged how they are going to position this new browser, if it’s going to be a complete portal like Yahoo or if they are going to use it as an advertising window that all customers have to wade through to be able to use their services.

While I don’t use AT&T broadband services I do hope that they keep in mind their customers experience with their service and that many people want to just get on the internet and go directly to what they need without a lot of fluff.