I downloaded the free AOL client for the iPhone today and gave it a spin.  I must say that I’m disappointed in what AOL delivered.  I think that part of the problem is due to Apple not having the infrastructure in place to handle the background notifications.

Things missed from the 1.0 version:

• Background Notifications – I.E. getting notices when you’re not in the app when someone sends you an IM
• Not logging you out of the service if you’ve been idle for 5 minutes or so.
• Being able to delete people from your buddy list
• Logging into multiple accounts