On the Run and Thank Goodness for Google Mobile!
By Lark Birdsong
Birdsong Research
Recently, I had two occasions when I really wanted information fast and could not use my laptop to get on the internet. That is when Google Mobile helped me out in a big way! (http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/). Here are a couple of examples which could be useful to you.
Business Search Example
When airplanes are delayed travelers trying to get to their connecting flights have precious little time. Certainly there is no time to get on a laptop or on the phone punching several buttons and then holding and holding and holding for the next agent. If the connecting plane is delayed that would give travelers a little breathing room. Yet you still might need to do an all out sprint to catch the flight or head for customer service (or the coffee bar) if the plane has already left. Sound painfully familiar? Yet how do you get this information fast so you know what course of action to take? Google Mobile to the rescue.
As soon as you land, turn on your phone and in the text message To area type in the number 466453 which is also Google on the phone pad. Now I will switch to a real example with me landing in Denver, CO and connecting with UA 5850. In the text message area I typed in ua 5987. I timed how long it was before I received my answer and it was 6 seconds. The information text backed to me is listed below.
UA 5850
DEN
Depart: 15:37
On Time
Gate: B84
CID
Arrive: 18:31
On Time
UA: 800-864-8331
by flightstats.com
I find Google Mobile very useful as a business tool. I can find information on weather, directions, maps, currency conversion, Q&A, glossary, local information, area codes and some product prices and language translations while I am mobile and need a quick, easy to find answer. The link above shows you the current features and allows you to try out your search query for free. I hope that you are tempted to try them as well. Google Mobile also has one more feature that really helped me late at night which is discussed below.
General Search Example
I was heading out of a mountain town in Colorado and towards the Eisenhower tunnel late at night. I saw a trail of red lights and knew a problem had occurred as I came to a complete stop. There was no wireless coverage so my laptop was useless and many of the news stations were done broadcasting and with limited staff. My question was should I turn around and spend the night or wait the problem out. I went to text messaging on my phone, typed in Google (466453) and in the text message area typed g dillon co traffic. The g stands for the Google Mobile web snippets feature and sure enough I learned there was an accident on the other side of the tunnel. At my decision point, I texted again, and the message told me traffic had returned to normal (as if there is ever normal traffic coming out of the mountains on I-70) and about 10 minutes later traffic started to move.
I am really fond of Google Mobile and think you will find many uses for it while you are mobile with your phone. Of course the phone companies love it as well so make sure you know your text message plan and do not end up with a bigger bill than expected.
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