Quick test for you with high-speed Internet: Who's your Internet provider? Chances are, you only see the company's name on your monthly bill.
As high-speed Internet access becomes as commonplace as turning on a hot-water tap, consumers pay less and less attention to who delivers all those bits. But that's a problem from the vantage of those Internet service providers: How can they keep a customer who barely knows their name?
In an effort to bring its brand back squarely to the consumer's attention, AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) is launching something that few of its customers would have guessed that they need: a "three-dimensional" browser called Pogo. "Interacting with a browser is the first thing people do when they get online," says David Krantz, AT&T's vice president for business development. "If we can give them something better, that will give us a deeper connection with our customers."
Pogo aims to give people more tools to navigate the Web and organize digital content, such as bookmarks, photos and videos in a visual and immersive way. Its 3D interface allows users to display digital content in "cells" that can be rearranged much like playing cards. The cells are essentially thumbnail images of Web sites; a double mouse click launches the site. Like regular digital files, the cells can be organized into collections, Pogo's equivalent of a digital folder. Users can also shuffle the collections in a dynamic 3D view. In an open browser, the cells sit in a row at the bottom of the window for quick access.
Sound familiar?
Apple's CoverFlow application uses a similar approach; bloggers are also comparing the application with those from start-ups Searchme and SpaceTime. All three arrange thumbnail images in scrollable rings or carousels. That's not on purpose, says Todd Finch, chief executive of Vizible, the Toronto-based technology firm that has worked closely with AT&T to develop Pogo. (AT&T is also an investor in Vizible.) Such visual clues help people sort and search among a huge array of files, Finch adds. Vizible has been using 3D technology in applications for businesses and governments for the past seven years.
For now, Pogo is only in beta form and runs on PCs (a Mac version is in the works). AT&T plans to publicly launch Pogo in several months. It will be free to anyone who downloads it. The company also hopes it will draw advertising dollars--both search and banners--and possibly, sponsorships, says Lee Culver, the telco's executive director of business development. Eventually, AT&T plans to apply the technology to a number of products, such as its high-speed broadband service U-Verse or its wireless portal, MEdiaNet, says Krantz.
That could cause friction between AT&T and its many Internet partners, including Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ). Culver plays down any rivalry, noting that Pogo isn't designed to be a full-fledged portal and that Yahoo! will likely participate in Pogo, possibly by integrating Yahoo! services like Flickr into the application.
A browser's survival hinges on its popularity. Pogo is based on Firefox--a favorite among techies. Even so, the company hopes to aim Pogo at the mass market. Early signs, say Krantz, are encouraging: In focus groups, women particularly liked how Pogo organizes information.
"No one actually needs a 3D browser," admits Krantz. "But of the 1 billion-plus Internet users, I'm sure there will be a segment who will like this."
