It's completely voice-activated. Program 1-800-GOOG-411 into your cell phone favorites and you're ready to go. When you've found the business you want, say "text it" to send full details to your phone, or say "map it" to get a mobile map (assuming your phone has mapping capabilities).

Check out this video for a quick overview:

For full details, visit the 1-800-GOOG-411 Home Page. Or just program in that number and give it a try. It's really that easy. Gotta love Google!

• 1-800-GOOG411 (Google)
• 1-800-Call-411 (MSFT, Tellme powered)
• 1-800-Yellowpages (AT&T)
• 1-800-2ChaCha (”mobile answers”)
• 1-800-The-Info (Verizon)
• 1-800-555-Tell (Tellme)
• 1-800-555-5555 (potentially)

This also doesn’t include the voice-powered (or operator-assisted) mobile applications:

• Yahoo’s oneSearch with Vlingo
• MSFT Live Search with voice
• The Tellme client (a new version launches today for the Blackberry)
• V-Enable’s FreeMobile411

There’s also the mobile Internet itself, which competes with DA in some cases. In the future, mobile social networks may also address some of the queries that might have gone to DA (e.g., category searches). Right now the latter is quite speculative however.

Against that backdrop Jingle needs to continue to develop, market and differentiate its service if it hopes to stay ahead of this increasing competition. One way it has sought to do that is by offering Dial Directions service, which as of today is now available nationally: any location to any other location (by address or intersection).

The rest of this post is on Local Mobile Search.

Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 from any phone (mobile or land line) for a free, automated business directory system.  It uses voice recognition and will give you the number and connect you for free.

If you like, it will also send a text message with more information and a link to a map of the business you've selected.

I've used GOOG-411 several times, and it's pretty handy.

One caveat: the voice recognition (understandably) gets a little flaky when you use it in a car full of screaming children.

See http://www.google.com/goog411/. 

“Jingle Networks, Inc., the leader in free voice search and operator of the 1-800-FREE411 directory service, today announced it has sold out its 2008 sponsorship inventory due to unprecedented advertiser growth among national and local brands. Clients such as McDonald’s, Earthlink and AMC Theaters have renewed their contracts and new companies including FordDirect have signed on with 1-800-FREE411 to reap the benefits of its unique and clutter-free platform.”

Jingle is the most widely used of the four big free-DA offerings: 1-800-Free-411, Goog411, AT&T’s 1-800-YellowPages, Microsoft’s/Tellme’s 1-800-Call-411.

Jingle’s sponsorship inventory consists of typically CPM ads that play at the “top” of a call. Jingle now reports more than 20 million calls per month. According to our estimate, there are roughly 5.4 billion DA calls made annually in the United States. Approximately 2.3 billion originate from landlines and 3.1 billion are from mobile phones — and the volumes continue to shift toward mobile.

The rest of this post is at LocalMobileSearch.

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In the comments below former Jupiter analyst and founder of real estate vertical homethinking Niki Scevak makes the point that there's potential reason for concern here and that the company needs more (calls) inventory to keep growing.

[I[ts comprehensive, feature-rich local search site, remained the top local search site in the 14-state area* where Dex is the official print directory for Qwest. According to comScore, DexKnows.com (formerly DexOnline.com) was the most used local search site in this area in terms of number of searches, accounting for 24 percent of all searches during the quarter. This marks the fifteenth consecutive quarter DexKnows.com led the market.

I have some issues with how comScore segments and measures the "local search" market -- it uses a conservative methodology and separates "local search" and "IYP" into two distinct categories. But taking these numbers at face value it shows how the combined power of print and online -- together with some traditional branding and marketing -- can be a successful strategy for traditional media companies vs. online-only competitors.

DexKnows is supported by Local Matters' destination search platform. In addition, Dex is testing a voice search service (free DA) using CallGenie's platform and technology.

Thomson and Google have partnered to help consumers save money on 411 business information calls by integrating the first ever one-touch, auto-dial GOOG-411 button into many of its latest GE-branded DECT 6.0™ Interference Free phones for 2008. One of many new innovative features for consumers from Thomson, GOOG-411 is Google's free, voice-activated, business directory assistance service, and the GOOG-411 button will be incorporated on more than a dozen GE phones, which will be available in April.

This moves GOOG411 into new realms and is being positioned, interestingly, not only as an alternative to conventional 411 but as an alternative to "the phone book":

"While some people still use the 'phone book,' most traditional paper versions these days are remarkably incomplete and do not fit today's fast paced lifestyle," said Tom Bratton, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Thomson Consumer Network Solutions.

This is something of a marketing coup for Google to help build awareness of the GOOG411 service, which will eventually be ad-supported. Google has done some uncharacteristic consumer marketing for its service (mostly outdoor) in selected areas, but it remains largely unknown, according to both LocalMobileSearch and comScore data:

• In a recent LocalMobileSearch survey, conducted on behalf of V-Enable, 76.3% of respondents (n=671) said they had never used "one of the free alternatives to carrier-provided 411 directory assistance"
• Data compiled by comScore for Jingle Networks found that only 7%-8% of users had "heard of or used" GOOG-411 "in the past 30 days" (based on three survey waves in 2007). By contrast, 17%-18% said they had "heard of or used" Jingle's 1800-Free-411 service

As Dan Miller says in a post at LocalMobileSearch, "Single button access, offered by Google and others, are poised to change long established user behaviors, like dialing 411 or longer, toll-free access numbers. This is a major threat to incumbent, fixed line DA providers that generated something like $3.5 billion in highly profitable revenue from roughly 4 billion calls last year."

• 1-800-Free-411 (Jingle Networks)
• 1-800-GOOG-411 (Google)
• 1-800-Call-411 (Microsoft, built on Tellme)
• 1-800-YellowPages (AT&T)

The data show relatively low awareness of these services, which is the principal challenge they face. (Consumers also remain largely ignorant of how much they pay for mobile 411.) But once they become aware and try these services they typically won't return to traditional 411.

Yesterday driving down the street in Oakland I also saw a Goog411 billboard. This appears to be a bona fide effort by Google to expose the service to people and generate usage.

Again, what's remarkable with this is that Google is actually doing consumer marketing (a first) for a product and not relying entirely on word of mouth.

I'm wondering where similar marketing is from Microsoft's Tellme.

This is something that hasn't been done as visibly before. (Checkout had some online marketing.) I would imagine Google will be looking to see if there's a spike in usage from the areas where the placements are. That will be somewhat difficult to measure in SF (unless they're brought down and traffic before and during compared). But in other areas, where there is likely to be less awareness, performance will be more immediately obvious.

At the bottom of his piece, Mike asks the following questions:

The real questions for me are:

• When will they add individuals to the Goog-411 service?
• When will they monetize the service?
• How will they monetize the service without it being intrusive and simultaneously adding value to the interaction?

My answers:

• The majority of 411 calls are for businesses, so it's not necessarily critical. But Jingle (800 Free411) does residential it so it's fairly easy to add the data.
• When the usage passes a certain threshold it WILL be monetized
• How will they monetize it? One way that answers Mike's concerns is with relevant ads at the bottom of SMS messages (send by text). This is being done already elsewhere; 118118 in the UK is an example.
• It could also be a distribution channel for radio/audio ads if the ads are highly targeted.
• They could also tease ads (whether audio or coupons) and have an opt-in to accept. (i.e., "Press one to listen" or receive by text message.)

This is a fairly dramatic departure for Google (assuming it is a bona fide ad campaign to build awareness for the voice search service), which has typically relied on word-of-mouth to promote its products.

Here's the new Goog411 page (complete with instructional video, also distributed on YouTube). "It's really simple, and it's free."

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As an aside, Google is getting very smart about creating videos for most of these new product offerings. The videos are engaging and much more accessible and complete than FAQs. Yahoo! something similar with social bookmarking site delicious (via Search Engine Journal).

Jingle had been promoting itself with outdoor and radio advertising. But this is a segment that has quickly become crowded and competitive (so expect some more consumer marketing).

Voice search will be a nearly ubiquitous interface option in the near future, blurring the distinction between some of the different services. Microsoft, for example, is starting to make a big push with Tellme as the voice front end on different mobile search options.

I also did a short post on this at SEL.

CallGenie also provides voice search and enhanced DA services to Verizon, Yellow Pages Group (Hello Yellow) and Say Hello.

The rest of this post is at LocalMobileSearch.

Ask all you want with Metro411 Unlimited Directory Assistance. You will hear the number, AND you will receive a text message containing the name and phone number you requested. Receive residential, business and government phone listings for anywhere in the U.S., Canada or Puerto Rico when you dial 411 from your MetroPCS phone

While those "premium" spending levels are generally easy to hit in normal carrier service plans, the "unlimited local and long distance" nature of MetroPCS means that the company has to provide other reasons to bump up to higher-priced plans. (MetroPCS offers all-you-can-eat plans at $30, $35, $40, $45 or $50, with different options and services.)

The rest of this post is at Local Mobile Search.

More at LocalMobileSearch.

I decided to informally test GOOG411 vs. Dial Directions across category searches and a few name-in-mind searches to see how they comparatively performed. The outcome was something of a split decision.

The rest of this post is at LocalMobileSearch.

Read the rest of Dan Miller's analysis of the announcement on LocalMobileSearch.

The rest of this post is on LocalMobileSearch.

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Related: Peter Krasilovsky reports on local Florida newspaper white label adoption of (America) Say Hello, another ad-supported free DA service (powered by CallGenie). Free DA in its various incarnations is starting to quickly become a crowded segment. It will be challenging for smaller competitors over time to have direct to consumer businesses unless they offer unique or superior services. Beyond this, traditional DA will have to offer what amount to concierge-like services if it hopes to survive in the face of all the free options.

There's more at LocalMobileSearch and Search Engine Land.

The country's third-largest wireless provider, with more than 53 million subscribers, has sent letters to about 1,000 subscribers terminating their contracts, according to Roni Singleton, a company spokeswoman.

"The number of inquiries you have made to us ... has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs," the letter, dated June 29, states.

The terminated subscribers called an average of 25 times a month, a rate 40 times higher than average customers, Ms. Singleton said.

Sprint charges $1.25 per directory assistance call. Thus these are revenue-generating customers. But beyond this, it suggests an opportunity to create a free, ad-supported DA model. AT&T has 1-800-YellowPages, Verizon is in the process of building one, and of course Jingle, Google and Microsoft all have free DA services.

Indeed, conventional directory assistance will lose more and more ground over time to these ad-supported models. Time for Sprint to get ahead of the curve.

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I stand corrected. I was late when I read the WSJ story and I obviously didn't read it correctly. It's not DA; it's *2 customer service. It wouldn't make any sense to expel DA callers, which is what I said. But it does make sense, though perhaps misguided, to cut people who call customer service all the time -- that's just a cost center (in their mind) for Sprint.

(posting on 12/24 - a day early)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Direct link to mp3 file: Click here. Please take our survey - click here.

Free 411. Why pay the phone company $2.00?

Here are the web sites mentioned.

The Ultimates

Free 411

TellMe

Goog-411

CellCon Consulting

- aw

Sadly, I tried it in Auburndale and it redirected me to the closest Orlando listing. I'm assuming that since it's still in development, it only provides service for larger cities right now. Good to have though, when we make the trip.