Google launches mobile search service

April 12, 2005

Google today added Google Local business lookup to its mobile search offerings.

Google Local builds its database from yellow pages and addresses extracted from Google's search engine.

Go to http://mobile.google.com/local/ from within any mobile device browser, and you'll be prompted to enter two bits of information: What and Where. What can be a category (e.g. pizza or accountant) and Where can be a precise address or simply a zip code.

The service then returns several hits and a map showing the location of each business.

The maps are similar to those provided by Google's excellent new mapping service, http://maps.google.com, but unlike the PC browser-based versions, you can't reposition the maps by dragging, which would be a difficult task on most phones anyway.

On several of our searches, Google Local indicated the wrong city and even state, although the street address was fine. For instance, when we asked for pizza in our Manhattan zip code (10016), its first result was a Dominos on 3rd Avenue in New Providence, NJ.

New Providence is about 30 miles away, but there is, in fact, a Dominos on 3rd Avenue less than a mile from our office.

You can get driving directions to any business that Google finds, although if the address is not completely correct, the directions will be wrong. If your device supports it, though, you can click on the phone number in the results to call the business.

If typing the full URL is too much trouble, you'll also be able to get to Google Local from the main Google Mobile page (http://mobile.google.com). In addition, if Google interprets a Google Mobile search as looking for local information, it will provide Google Local hits in the results.

If you prefer text messaging to web browsing on your phone, you can also get Google Local information using Google SMS, (http://www.google.com/sms); which has been around since last fall.

Simply send a note to 46645 (which spells Googl [[the missing 'e' is intentional]]) with your request and the information will be returned momentarily.

You can get white and yellow page information, movies, weather, definitions and more.

Source: PC Mag.com

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