Google SMS

Before we begin, please note that Google SMS is still in beta (test mode) and only works on major wireless providers in the USA, namely Alltel, Cincinnati Bell, Cingular/AT&T, Nextel, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Verizon, Dobson Communications, or U.S. Cellular. The good news is you don't need a brand-new fancy phone with web browsing built in. Google SMS should work on almost any mobile or handheld, as long as you have the ability to send and receive text messages.

MUST... HAVE... PIZZA!!!

And wings, please, with medium sauce. So let's try a query. We'll find a nearby pizza joint in New Paltz, NY. Send your text message to 46645 (the numbers spell "GOOGL") like this:

pizza new paltz ny

Or, if you know the zipcode, you can shorten it to:

pizza 12561

You'll get your answer in a reply text message, usually within a few seconds, formatted like the example on the right. The "1/2" tells you to look for another message labelled "2/2" with more results. You may get up to four responses.

86ing 4-1-1

Google SMS also serves up business and residential phone listings. Why would anyone ever call the phone company for information and *pay* for it, when Google SMS is free? Here are some examples:

Starbucks 02116
Home Depot Topeka KS

Or to find publicly listed phone numbers and addresses for residences in the US, try a query like one of these. Specify all the info you know to increase the chances of a successful search. Note that you can omit first name, use an initial, specify the city and/or state, or just the zipcode or area code.

john smith palo alto ca
smith 10940
j smith 914
845-343-2623

Lampshade Now Optional

Google SMS will make you the life of the party when people around you notice your skill at retrieving dictionary definitions and doing price comparisons. "Hey Alice, Bob just looked up the word "bloviate" using his cell phone!"

define bloviate

If you're in a store bargain hunting, Google SMS will access Froogle to search millions of products from stores on the web. The results contain no ads, just current prices for products available online.

price dvd player
price delonghi coffee maker
price 27 inch sony television

SMS to Impress

Suppose that girl at the party is just not impressed that you can get phone listings and compare coffee makers with your phone. What if she says "Well that's fine, but what about the moons of Uranus?" Not a problem... Snippets to the rescue! A snippet is an excerpt from the results page when you do a search on Google. You don't get the full web results and you can't click on any of the links, but sometimes the answer to your question will be found in the snippets. Happily,

G moons of uranus

returns this:

Google Web: * The Moons
of Uranus-The following
image (Ref) shows the 5
largest satellites of
Uranus: Miranda, Ariel,
Umbriel, Titania, and
Oberon...

Surely that will leave her speechless. Here are some other snippet search examples:

G mother in law's day
G population fresno ca
G latitude podunk ny

It Slices, It Dices

My old, clunky cell phone doesn't have a calculator. But Google SMS does. The calculator can solve basic math problems, convert units of measure and other fun stuff. Some examples:

52134*98.6
23967/12
2^20
sqrt(490)
half a cup in teaspoons
2 gallons in liters

Query with an area code and see the region that area code covers.

914
415

Or query by zipcode and get results for the area that zip covers.

12486
94404

Google SMS is always adding cool new features. Here are examples of some other fun things you can do with your cell phone and Google:

pasadena CA to santa monica CA (driving directions)

superman 94110 (movie listings)
weather dallas tx (local weather)
IBM (stock quotes)
population of Kansas (facts & figures)
translate coffee in french (language translations)
Mets (sports scores)

If you forget any of the Google SMS commands, just send 'help' as a text message to 46645 and you'll receive instructions and tips on how to use the service. Oh, and if your phone is configured to add a signature to outgoing text messages, you'll have to turn that off to receive Google SMS results. Want more info on Google SMS? Visit http://sms.google.com

Got any SMS tips? Post your comments below...