Iraq, MySpace, iPhone, games top AOL Mobile searches

By Giselle Abramovich

December 18, 2007

Britney Spears topped the celebrity search list this year

If search is a barometer of what’s on people’s minds, then war is top of the list for AOL Mobile searchers.

Iraq was the most searched word on AOL Mobile this year, followed by MySpace, iPhone, games and mail.

"Mobile Web search tends to increase on the weekends when users are away from their desks,” said Farhan Memon, senior product manager at AOL Search. “They're out-and-about with their cell phones and the mobile Web in tow.

“The mobile search results are largely indicative of what’s gaining traction on the mobile Web – games, mail, chat, music,” he said. “These are all categories of activities that we believe users are actively engaging in on the mobile Web."

AOL also reported that the year's top general term searched – across both desktop and mobile searches – was "weather," followed by White Pages. WWE wrestler Chris Benoit topped the news searches and the iPhone led the gadget category.

Britney Spears topped the celebrity search list.

Fox’s American Idol was the most-searched TV show and Hillary Clinton was the front-runner on the top politicians list. Topping this year's inaugural most-searched-for “Accidental Celebrity” list is socialite-turned-reality-TV star, Kim Kardashian.

The nation’s obsession with model Paris Hilton may be over, but its interest in Ms. Spears was extremely high in 2007.

Ms. Spears rocketed from No. 6 in 2006 to the top of the celebrity list this year. Next on the list were Martha Stewart, Anna Nicole Smith, Madonna and American Idol contestant Antonella Barba, respectively.

Here are the rest of AOL’s top searches across the Web and mobile channels for the year: 
 
Top search terms: 1) Weather 2) White Pages 3) Games 4) Dictionary 5) Music 6) CNN 7) Maps 8) American Idol 9) ESPN 10) WWE 
 
Top movies: 1) Harry Potter 2) Transformers 3) Spider-Man 3 4) 300 5) Ghost Rider 6) Pirates of the Caribbean 7) Shrek the Third 8) Borat 9) Hairspray 10) Dreamgirls 
 
Top athletes: 1) John Cena 2) Tiger Woods 3) David Beckham 4) Serena Williams 5) Michael Vick 6) Michael Jordan 7) Tom Brady 8) Reggie Bush 9) Derek Jeter 10) Barbaro 
 
Top gadgets: 1) iPhone 2) iPod 3) Wii 4) Computers 5) Cell phones 6) Tracfone 7) XM Radio 8) GPS 9) PSP 10) Xbox 
 
Top musicians: 1) Chris Brown 2) Akon 3) Fergie 4) Lil Wayne 5) Justin Timberlake 6) Ciara 7) Avril Lavigne 8) Carrie Underwood 9) Rihanna 10) Christina Aguilera
 
Top books: 1) The Secret 2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 3) You on a Diet 4) Best Life Diet 5) 5 Factor Diet 6) The Kite Runner 7) Into the Wild 8) If I Did It 9) New Moon 10) Water for Elephants
 
Top gossip blogs: 1) TMZ 2) Perez Hilton 3) Dlisted 4) The Superficial 5) Pink is the New Blog 6) Celebrity Baby Blog 7) Media Takeout 8) Gawker 9) Just Jared 10) Popsugar
 
Top bands: 1) Coldplay 2) Fall Out Boy 3) My Chemical Romance 4) Jonas Brothers 5) Linkin Park 6) Van Halen 7) Nickelback 8) Rascal Flatts 9) U2 10) Evanescence
 
Top shopping brands: 1) Pottery Barn 2) Victoria's Secret 3) Coach 4) Lane Bryant 5) Harley-Davidson 6) Nike 7) Lands' End 8) Crocs 9) Banana Republic 10) Talbots