www.nytimes.com/2006/11/23/technology/23pogue.html
DAVID POGUE Published: November 23, 2006 Thanksgiving, is it? Well, despite occasional headaches, technology has also brought us plenty to be thankful for: safety, convenience and entertainment on the go. Next time youre running late, lost or lonely, ask yourself: arent you grateful for your cellphone?
Skip to next paragraph Illustration by Stuart Goldenberg A message from Pinger alerts a user that a voice mail message has been received. With every passing month, cellphones are becoming even more useful. Sure, its nice that they let you call people from the road. But lately, their reach has grown, thanks to clever programmers making links between the cellular world and the Internet. Here, for your gratitude-generating pleasure, is a rundown of some of the most exciting and powerful services awaiting your cellphone at this very moment. FREE DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE By this time, its quite clear that nobody with a $50 a month calling plan actually pays only $50 a month. A computer or human being looks up a number for you at no charge, once youve listened to a 20-second ad.
In the body of the message, type what youre looking for, like Roger McBride 10025 or chiropractor dallas tx. Seconds later, you get a return message from Google, complete with the name, address, and phone number. FREE ANSWERS Googles 46645 text-messaging service can fetch much more than phone numbers. It can also send you the weather report (in the body, type, for example, weather sacramento), stock quotes (amzn), where a movie is showing nearby (type flushed away 44120), what a word means (define schadenfreude), driving directions (miami fl to 60609), unit conversions (liters in 5 gallons), currency conversions (25 usd in euros), and so on. Every cell carrier charges for text messages about 10 cents each, unless you have a plan that includes them. If you prefer conducting your research missions by voice, call 800-555-TELL (800-555-8355). A cheerful recorded voice invites you to say Travel, Traffic, News Center, Stock Quotes, and so on. The system is smart enough to know your location, which pays off when you say Movies, Restaurants, Driving directions or Taxi. You pay only for a call to the access number in Iowa, which is 712-858-8883; if you use your cellphone on nights or weekends, even thats a free call. Then punch in 011, the country code and the phone number. Fine print: In some countries, you can reach only landlines, not cellphones. And in part because FuturePhones lines have been flooded, its success at placing calls is not, ahem, 100 percent. But its hard to argue with free, which, according to the company, it will be until at least 2010. FREE PINGS Pinger is a new way to reach someone: a method that combines the immediacy of a text message with the personality of voice mail.
With one keystroke, she can hear your message and with another, send a voice reply. Theres no waiting to roll over to voice mail, no listening to instructions, no outbound greetings. Because Pinger is much faster and more direct than voice mail, its great for sending quick voice notes when youre driving or walking between meetings. Its also ideal when you cant risk being stuck in a 20-minute conversation with no polite way out.
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