The 411 on Google's 411
Google already makes it stupendously easy to to locate information about nearly any company in existence. So easy that when you're stuck offline at your grandmother's house in the middle of nowhere, you can often feel a little lost, disconnected, and generally uninformed. Sure, with your cell you can always hit Google Mobile and get info texted to you, or if you have a smart enough phone you can and use Google Maps for Mobile. But what if you just have a phone...you know the kind with a stretchy cord? Google's got you covered, making even that vintage device a little more helpful by releasing its Google Voice Local Search to the wild. Better known to the masses as Google 411, the service has been in testing for some time and is finally open for all. To use it you dial 1-800-GOOG-411 then speak a city and state followed by business name or category to get a selection of matching results. If one is right, just say so: The helpful computerized voice will connect you automatically, read you the company's address and phone number, or just send you a text message containing it all for future reference. Everything is commanded by voice and, unlike certain other voice-driven phone systems, this one works. In our tests it even picked up on tricky town names like "Schenectady" and delivered perfect results every time.
Okay, so ultimately Google's 411 is probably no better than your current phone service's 411 offerings, and there's no way to actually get to a person, but like most things Google this service is totally free. Amazingly you won't even be stuck listening to advertisements wedged in between listings...at least not yet. All this means Google's Voice Local Search definitely deserves a place in your phone's contact list, whether it's actually in your phone or just scribbled on a pad stuck on the wall next to it.
From Google Labs
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