Farewell, GOOG-411
David Pogue OCTOBER 14, 2010
Oh, it's a sad day in techland.
On Nov. 12, Google will turn off 800-GOOG-411 forever.
It was one of the best, juiciest, most useful services in all phonedom. It didn't cost anything. It didn't require a smartphone. Its accuracy was uncanny.
In case you missed it, GOOG-411 is a free, voice-activated directory-assistance service. You say the business name or category you want-"Freestyle Gym," "taxi," "Sakura restaurant," "hospital," whatever - and the city and state. In one second, the guy's voice starts reading a list of the best eight results.
You interrupt him by saying, "number two" or whatever. Then you can say "details" to hear him read you the address and phone number. Or you can say "text message" to have him text you the information. But if you just hang on, he connects your call for free.
You never actually hear the phone number. But why should you care? You just want to call the place, right? It's like having a little assistant dude back at HQ connecting your calls - and if you're driving, which you often are when you use this service, never once did you take your eyes off the road. Or even write anything down.
People who knew about GOOG-411 adored it. But Google is about to turn it off forever.
The blog gives no explanation. Instead, it simply says "Goodbye to an old friend" and suggests that you use one of Google's voice-driven tools on an Android cellphone instead.
Well, that's great if you have an Android cellphone. What about the
95 percent of us who don't?I asked Google why Google pulled the plug. The PR person's (non)-reply:
...
I don't think it's _that_ great. The service requires that you give it a lot of info, and often requires repeats, and then runs down a list of "the top eight possibilities" - but once you choose one, there's no way to go back and try another without redialing and repeating all the info again.
Bill Horne Moderator