No More Calling 411 From Cell

(From The Hartford Courant/The Washingtn Post -- by Yuki Noguchi)

One of the coolest things about technology is discovering new ways to save a buck or two -- in this case the $1.50 fee that some wireless phone carriers charge for each call to 411.

If you know how to send a text message on your mobile phone-- and millions do -- then listings for a neighborhood deli or the closest ATM or even a weather forecast or stock quote are as close your mobile phone.

And it's pretty much free, unless your phone plan charges text-messaging fees. For some, that's as much as 10 cents per message.

GOOGLE INC. and YAHOO INC., as well as the smaller 4INFO INC., are now offering text-messaging search features that allow users to send a query to the search engines via text message and receive a reply within seconds.

The three work in a similar fashion -- To use the service, a user sends a text message with the search request to the five-digit number for YAHOO (92466) or GOOGL (46645) or 4INFO (44636).

For example, text "Pizza 06119" to GOOGL, and within seconds you'll get text responses with the addresses and phone numbers for pizza joints in West Hartford's 06119 zip code.

Alternatively, the same search request can be processed by typing "West Hartford Pizza," or narrowed by the specific restaurant by entering "Pizza Hut 06119" in the text message.

YAHOO, GOOGLE and 4INFO all let you search for weather by typing in "Weather 06119" or, alternatively, just "W 06119" or "W West Hartford."

So far, searching by text is still a relatively new idea.

Search-by-text is a service that is expected to gain in popularity as the big search-engine companies compete to keep users of their desktop search products, said MARK DONOVAN, an analyst with M:METRICS.

Even though an estimated 95 percent of cellphones today are capable of sending and receiving text messages, there hasn't been much done to promote search-by-text. Donovan said word of mouth and increased marketing will bring more users.

For now, providing the service for free does not generate any direct revenue, but it makes users more loyal to the YAHOO brand, said NICOLE LEVERICH, a spokeswoman for YAHOO.

No More Calling 411 From Cell