Many web users have multiple email accounts, and it can be quite a pain to have to skip from one platform to another to access each account. AOL is seeking to eliminate this hassle for many web users by creating a hub for all those email accounts, whether it be Yahoo Mail, Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Hotmail or others. Essentially this tool would be a single sign-on for a number of accounts--essentially a gateway to all one's email accounts in one place. The new email service by AOL will no, however, access accounts from Microsoft Exchange Server--nor will it be able to pull in social messages from networks like Twitter or Facebook. Such functionality may be on the horizon for the service.
Context: This new tool is part of AOL's larger ambitions to make a comeback. Recently the former industry leader and now independent company, redesigned it's homepage to make content more relevant and local.