TECH BUZZ

Text services make any phone smart

Tech Buzz with Eric Benderoff

October 1, 2007

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Here's a smart trick any mobile phone can do: Provide an address, directions or a number for that French restaurant you've been meaning to try.

You don't need a GPS on the dashboard, a Web-enabled smart phone accessing MapQuest or even an old-fashioned paper map.

To find that restaurant, text Le Bouchon Chicago to Google -- that's 466-453. In a minute, you'll get a text back with the address and phone number.

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Or you can call a super-fast new service called Dial Directions (347-328-4667, the call is free) and say the restaurant's address when prompted and a text with directions from your house to the restaurant's front door arrives on your phone before you hang up.

These two texting services work on any mobile phone, even the one you got for free when you signed a new contract. All you need to know is how to send a text message. If you don't know how to do that, find a teenage neighbor and ask.

Once you get to that restaurant and you're unsure what escargot means, just text Google Translate French to English: escargot to learn it means snail. The answer will arrive before the waiter has a chance to turn up his nose at you.

These text services aren't perfect, but they are certainly useful.

With Google SMS (short message service, a.k.a text messaging), the service works best if you first tell Google where you're calling from. So, send a text to Google with the message set location XXXXX, with those X's being your ZIP code. Now the service knows what city you're texting from, which is useful when you send weather (for the local forecast) or movies (for nearby show times) to 466-453.

If you text Cubs, you will get the scores from the last two games, plus the coming schedule.

If you text sushi, you will get a list of nearby restaurants.

Maybe you're getting ready to visit London and are not sure if you need to pack a heavy coat. Text London weather and get the forecast for the next three days. Then, when you're there, if you wonder how much that 24 pound dinner cost, text 24 pounds in dollars and you'll get this reply: "Currency Conversion: 24 British pounds = 48.3288 U.S. dollars."

You can get driving directions, too, but Google's service here falls short. I was able to get directions from my house, based on ZIP code, to a relative's ZIP code in Michigan, but not to the home address. For those directions, I received five texts (the messages hold only 160 characters each) on how to get pretty close to where I wanted to go.

A better option for directions is Dial Directions, which is being rolled out nationwide and might not work in all areas. (I couldn't get specific directions into Michigan, for instance.)

Here's how it worked when I asked to find a friend's house in Oak Park:

I spoke the address into the phone and the automated voice (she sounds nice) repeated it back perfectly. Then, I gave the address I was starting from and, again, it was repeated back perfectly.

Then she asked if I wanted directions to the highway, under the assumption that I probably already knew how to get there. I said no, saving one text in the process (remember, 160 characters per message; detailed directions can take a few messages), and then two texts with turn-by-turn directions were sent to my phone.

I read the directions back to my friend. "Yes, that's one way to get there. Why didn't they send you down XX road? That's faster," he said, suddenly a cabbie.

Dial Directions works best when you give it a specific address. It will also find business chains, like Starbucks or FedEx Kinkos, but there are some wrinkles to fix.

When I asked to find a Starbucks nearby, the nice lady said, "Sorry, we couldn't find any locations within 150 miles of your house."

That's just laughable. Do you know anyone not within 150 miles of a Starbucks?

But when I gave it an address of a specific Starbucks, directions were sent right over.

Google also offers a similar voice service, 800-GOOG-411, but it won't find a specific address unless it's a business. You call and tell it the city you want information for and then what you want to find.

I said "Thai food." The operator, a nice man this time, provided eight nearby restaurants. You press 1, 2, 3, etc. for the one you want. Google will either send you a text message with the address or connect you directly to the restaurant if you want to make a reservation.

For cost, these text and voice services are free to access, but text message rates apply from your wireless carrier; those typically run 10 cents a message.

More carriers offer text plans (mostly for parents of teenagers) and, because about half of all mobile phone owners have used text messaging, you might want to consider one.

Is there a downside to these services? With Google SMS, you will get an occasional text ad sent to your phone, based on the key words you send in. When I texted Cubs for scores, I received two texts from ticket brokers.

That was annoying until I remembered that Google is a company that builds really useful tools for the purpose of selling ads.

But the big plus here with these messaging services is more about what you don't need: a fancy, Web-browsing phone. Any mobile phone will work just fine.

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ebenderoff@tribune.com