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Google Launches Free 411 Service

techcrunch.com — Google threw a new product called Goog-411 into Google Labs today - a free telephone based information service that could replace toll 411 calls. About 2.6 billion 411 calls are made in the U.S. each year, and it is a $7 billion/year market.

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davemc500hats, on 10/12/2007, -6/+203wow... Google kills another segment. bang, dead.
- econoar, on 10/25/2007, -5/+1351-800-FREE-411 has been around for awhile but this sounds MUCH better, as it connects for free, will send you a text, and more. Go Google! Screw those $1.75 411 call charges!
- jmanlasman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+55We don't have to sit through annoying ads like with FREE-411. The computer operator also sounds more realistic and clearer.
- Hentez, on 10/12/2007, -17/+6Wow, best thing I have seen all year!
- diggidydoo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+132Thank you lord Google... You are a kind and noble god.
- Blabster, on 10/12/2007, -5/+100Avoid blog spam : http://labs.google.com/goog411/index.html
- WiZZLa, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5I wonder if there is any relation to Goog-411 from last year? Noted at http://gesterling.wordpress.com/2006/10/19/da-cage-match-google-vs-jingle/ although the number listed there is 1-877-Goog-411, not 1-800-Goog-411.
- kenflannery, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24This story is so spread out over digg, looks like this is one is now the winner. I'm just pumped that 411 can stop nickel and diming everyone and Google has shown, once again, that more in life should and can be free.
- stevesearer, on 10/12/2007, -11/+10While I would usually agree that Google products are great, this one is not very good at the moment. I tried 3 different listings and none connected me with what I wanted. Looks like we will just have to wait until it graduates from 'labs' to 'beta' :)
- EBFoxbat, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20How are 2.6 billion 411 calls a $7 billion/year market when they cost $1.25 a pop?
- dsignr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24For a product still in Google Labs, this blew me out of the water. Voice recognition is great (it even found a restaurant name in Japanese), and the automated response is amazing. Great job Google!
- quickgold192, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1Didn't Microsoft get in trouble for giving everything away for free? I guess since everyone's matching their free services they're saving Google from becoming a monopoly
- RidesAPaleHorse, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Only because Microsoft was found to be illegally leveraging Monopoly power to price competitors out of other markets.
- championchap, on 10/12/2007, -5/+78A stupid observation which I apologise for in advance.. but..
  
  Goog-411 is Goog-ALL in 1337
  heh, made me chuckle anyway.. sorry once more.
- 1longtime, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Google via mobile phone text message:
  
  Send your search keywords as a text message to:
  
  GOOGLE
  or
  466459 (or omit last number, only requires first 5, so dial GOOGL )
  
  You will receive a text message of your search results.
  
  Try it. It's free. Try "Best Buy " for instance, and addresses and phone numbers will be text messaged back to you.
- jasonhe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+43Here's an MP3 recording of what a call to this service is like. (It's not my call, I just found this link.)
  
  http://xar.ph/goog411-buffalo.mp3
- hdtvdust, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2econoar...I've used Free-411 at least a couple dozen times and have had to listen to an ad only ONCE. As I don't know how great this is if hte voice recognition is only 75% effective. The time it takes me to say "BACK" and retry sounds liek it is longer than having to listen to an ad once every 25 times.
- maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19i love the "bloobityblipblipbloopbloop" sound during 'loading'
- gotamd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2This is great, but I just called and the number was dead. Perhaps it's been overloaded. I'll try again later.
- Duhitsmichael, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4It even lists strip clubs!
- tutivlahos, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Ok, stupid question, just out of curiosity:
  
  I dont live in the USA, so I have no idea, how do you dial the letters in 1-800-GOOG-411 for example?
- colinm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@tutivlahos
  
  1-800-GOOG-411 is 1-800-4664-411
  This telephone keypad picture should explain:
  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Telephone-keypad.png/180px-Telephone-keypad.png
  
  I don't live in the USA either and had no idea what a "411-call" was. I guess it's directory enquiries.
- tutivlahos, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2@ColinM
  
  Thanks!
- Trax78, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3"Thank you lord Google... You are a kind and noble god."
  A-*****-Men!
- compconsultant, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Who uses 411? Did I miss something? Is it 1979 again?
- cosequin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@1longtime, that's also the number to send and receive google calendar alerts
hydratedsquash, on 10/12/2007, -9/+19Google is good people!
- MeNaCe942, on 10/12/2007, -14/+11Say hello to big brother, honestly google has several good services, but they are begining to stretch beyond their reach... and destroy markets just because they can, they are the walmart of the internet...
- soupcancooloff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20not destroying, liberating
- jewmanji, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14RE: Big Brother Google...
  
  From the Privacy Policy at http://labs.google.com/goog411/privacy.html:
  
  "If you do not have caller id blocked, we collect and store the number of your phone, along with the time of your call, each time you use the Google Voice Local Search service. We may use this phone number to distinguish you from other users, and ultimately, to personalize the service to you. If you do not wish us to record your phone number, then you may choose to block caller id for your number. For information about how to block caller id, please contact your carrier or your local phone company, as appropriate."
  
  "We also collect and store a copy of the voice commands you make to the service, so we can audit, evaluate, and improve the voice recognition capabilities of the service"
- kjcdude, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@menace942
  would you mind explaining how they are destroying markets?
- jongos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@menace942
  
  More like the Costco of the Internet. I'd argue that AOL was the Walmart...and they got what they deserved!
- kevin_ou, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Dial *67 1 800 466 4411 to block caller ID
- jewmanji, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@kevin: *67 does not block phone number from an 800 number. 800 numbers have access to your phone number through ANI not regular Caller ID. You could probably spoof the ANI if you are using Voice Over IP.
  
  From the FCC (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/callerid.html):
  "Simply requesting privacy when you call 800, 888, 877 and 866 numbers may or may not prevent the display of your telephone number. When you dial a toll-free number, the party you are calling pays for the call. The called party is able to identify your telephone number using a telephone network technology called Automatic Number Identification (ANI). FCC rules limit parties that own toll-free numbers from distributing the telephone numbers identified through ANI and require telephone companies to inform customers that their telephone numbers are being transmitted to toll-free numbers in this way."
- habubu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3If by destroying markets you mean offering a better service for a better price, then yes they are destroying markets just like walmart.
amal3k, on 10/12/2007, -13/+3Ads, ads, ads, the future is ads
- EBFoxbat, on 10/12/2007, -13/+3I *am* a bit hesitant to replace my 411 service with an advertisement agency. Sounds like a conflict of interest.
- elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Really? I could've SWORN that the future is developers developers developers.
monergism, on 10/12/2007, -2/+54This translates into MARKETING DATA.
- Darmichar, on 10/12/2007, -6/+36Wrong.
  It's Google's way of compiling data on who you call so they can sell it to the Government.
  
  /sarcasm
  
  ...Or is it?
- Darth_tater, on 10/12/2007, -3/+66so?
  
  i dont care if Google knows i occasionally need the phone number for round table pizza, or my local appliance repair shop.
- Yez70, on 10/12/2007, -2/+46Yep, for example, now Google has our phone numbers.
  
  How many in this thread people have dialed 1-800-GOOG-411 already?
- Darmichar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+54@darth tater
  That's all fine and dandy, until you get used to using it, it almost becomes second nature.
  Then there will come the day when you need the number for your local terrorist cell, and it all goes downhill from there.
  
  Wow, get a little extra caffeine in your system, and this conspiracy theory stuff is actually pretty easy.
  I could make up ***** like this all day.
- nathanwalker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10@Yez70
  
  520 diggs. Id say somewhere in there.
- elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Yez, I tried it, and let me tell you, this is FAR AND BEYOND any free 411 service I have ever used. I simply said 'Midland park new jersey brother's pizza' I even tried to mumble a little bit so that it would have a hard time. The voice recognition easily caught it, and connected me right to the pizza place.
- hdtvdust, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2darth tater...I am sure if it wasn't Google, you would be singing a different tune/...Again, Sergey will never let you suck his *****. You can stop sucking up to Google.
StiGUP, on 10/12/2007, -9/+0yea 1-800-free-411 sucks....they got like commercials..and you gotta wait forever...and they dont EVERY listing......google is just trying to dominate everything.....sounds like it will be good
- hdtvdust, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1If they are trying to dominate everything they are doing a miserable job at it. In EVERYTHING but search and advertising they are an insignificant player in every market. Most markets they have virtually ZERO market share.
JamesWilson, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5DIGG EFFECT ON GOOG 411!
FlyboyP, on 10/12/2007, -2/+67That is fantastic. I just spent 15 minutes talking to the Googlebot on speakerphone.
- SpacemanSpiff01, on 10/12/2007, -2/+50So you're why its so busy!
  I think the digg effect has spread to telephones.
ajaxlover, on 10/12/2007, -26/+1Google will capture the Ads form the Free-411 service in future...

Anyway its good for Consumers....

____________________________
Check it out: Amazon Secret Shopping >> http://www.enjoydeals.com
nmoline, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2I've been using 1800 Free 411 for over a year now it is already a great service. Too bad google will steal all their business.
- SpacemanSpiff01, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2The ads man, the ADS!
- fef560, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2Sorry for hijack
  
  Hey all, I just moved into a new apartment and my room got a lot bigger, which means my posters do a bad job covering the wall up =(.
  
  I remember a site that was around a year or two ago that divides a photo up into different pages which you can then print out and assemble together but I can't remember what it's called for the life of me. I know it starts with a K but that's as far as I got. Kaldraspic? No idea =(
  
  Any help would be nice, thanks in advance.
- theymos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@fef560
  Rasterbator, http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator
  You can return the favor by finding me that site that allows you to rip parts out of websites and turns them into feeds. They had an example video where they took the submitter, title, and snippet out of Digg submissions.
- dyvbond, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It's called rasturbating, and a good site was featured on diggnation a while back, don't know what it was though
- sweetskye82, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Steal all their business? HA! Whoever wants to listen to adds on 1-800-Free-411, raise your hands!, Yeah.. thought so..
tienm23, on 10/12/2007, -19/+6Not available in London Ontario...Grr.
- Thoughtgasms, on 10/12/2007, -4/+68Man, even Google hates Canada.
- nathanwalker, on 10/12/2007, -4/+54Well, they aren't even a real country anyway... with their beady little eyes, and their flappy little heads...
- nathanwalker, on 10/12/2007, -17/+1Edit: Gah, dumb refresh. Double post... Digg this down :-(
  
  We need a "delete my comment" button.
- Duelist, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7http://www.canada411.ca/
- VeganBob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34Free healthcare for all your citizens, but no free 411?
- haloevo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1so many useless idiots posting above..
- Tanath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Bloody hell! Not here, or in Toronto either. Can't wait until this works in Canada.
geronimo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15I have been using this service from tell me for awhile:
1-800-555-TELL (8355)

while others I have found to be ... lacking regarding voice recognition, Tell Me has some very good technology for voice recognition. This is a welcome addition to the land of free 411.
- sweetskye82, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I use tell for directions sometimes :)
- lolgamoff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1555? WTF?
inotocracy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+35Good. Its retarded that companies charge, what, $1 to do 411 on a cell phone? I'm glad Google is gonna put them out of business, all they do is ***** the customer.
KennMac, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Wow... I'm impressed. It knew the locations of all my local strip clubs and connected me.
- PatNolan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4But can it get you a free VIP pass?
CapeKid, on 10/12/2007, -5/+40I can't wait till Google changes its name to Skynet
- Al3x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Or the Umbrella Corporation...
Blabster, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19No support for Canada? :(
SoundJudgment, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Number locked and loaded into the cell-phone. My new 4-1-1.
- sylvaberkley, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2ditto
codyman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+40This is what I like about Google:

You can tell the people who brainstorm are real people like us... and being real people they go "I don't like this or that" and then set out to change whatever bothers them.. and unlike "us" who can't go about changing the world one phone call or search query at a time, Google (obviously to which has a few bucks and weight to push around) says "OK, change away" and thus the 21st century is off to a great start thanks to our friends at Google... :-)
- FatherG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23Exactly. There's alot of worry about google using the information with the wrong intentions but so far they haven't been that bad about it. Maybe that's why people berate MS constantly yet (usually) hail google.
  I would never trust a company like yahoo, or the rest with a universal username like google employs. Yet with google it's not even a second thought. Of course that means if they /do/ turn into evil overlords I'm totally screwed.
- greg9683, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16They also encourage user feedback to improve or come up with new products. It's nice a company actually listens to the customer. I got to interview with Google sometime back. They are definitely cool, "real" people.
nathanwalker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27Thats pretty awesome. Found what I wanted fast, and it was some obscure restaurant in Austin. Voice recognition worked pretty well too. Nicely done google. Keep it up, and keep doing no evil.
- lordcalvin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35If you don't love Google you're a card carrying commie. I totally agree with nathanwalker.
detrate, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3ut oh
rockmyway, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10splendid.... target services for which bell companies charge ppl... and then MAKE THEM FREE.... that's google.... amazing!!!

but i wonder how they'll make money on this one... ads over phone maybe?
TBolt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Just tried it. It rocks. I love Google. :)
Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -0/+38So tempted to see where the nearest "enriched uranium" shop is in my town.
- TBolt, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2LOL
nmoline, on 10/12/2007, -9/+51800 Free 411 uses voice recognition; however, if it can not understand you then an operator is standing by to help you. Until Google hires operators this service will not be entirely useful.
DigitalJester, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15For those outside the US. WTF is a 411 call?
- geronimo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15411 is traditionally the number you dial to get a phone number given someone's name / business name.
- u8myfoood, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Its a service that you usually have to pay for, its like an operator but sometime better, they search what you want and give you the number to connect or give information about what you request.
  
  even if you dial it by mistake, thats $1.50+ out of your pocket =P
- DigitalJester, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Ah. Thanks.
  
  In the UK it's 118-*insert company specific number*
- apache2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4you guys could have summed it up by just saying "411 is the information hotline"
- TheLD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2aka 192 in the UK
- zeroduck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A lot of 411 services will also provide driving instructions, and other services.
  
  I've had really good luck with Nextel 411, although it's a bit expensive given that I could get the same info online for free. We'll see if Google can help me out of a situation when it arises.
psykiv, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16No ads, gives you the address, sounds like a real person, connects you, and the voice recognition actually works quite well. I could care less for the text messaging feature though.

Free 411 has been replaced in my phone with goog 411.

My main gripe with 1 800 free 411 was that it didn't connect you, so you had to memorize the number or write it down somehow (not too feasible when walking/driving). Oh and half the time they have to transfer me to an operator because the voice recognition sucked :(

Btw, cingular charges $1.79 per 411 call.
- geronimo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10That is nice that they connect you. In fact, you could use that from your landline to call someone across the US for free. It is also great for cell phone usage of course. No other 411 service offers that (yet). In a way that makes sense, with VOIP, long distance calls are cheap, in fact the concept of 'long distance' is outdated when you place voice over IP.
- kopaka649, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1(I know this is a stupid question): Is there actually no long distance fees even when called from outside of the US (e.g. Canada)? I would assume so because its an 800 number and they can't normally charge fees on that.
  By the way, works great. I tried looking up Digg, it found something and connected me, but I'm not sure if it was the right one.
malavalla, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17does it work with adblock?
spiffytech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18They need to let you get directions SMS'd to your phone. Speak your start/end addresses and you're all set. Great for people without the data plan for Google Maps Mobile
jomer00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9cheers to google. amazing voice recognition.
gamerzworld, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14It would be cool if they expanded this to finding home phone numbers as well.
RandoTheKing, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0There is a free 411 #. You'd have to be a complete moron to pay 411 for a phone number
agildehaus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20I love the "processing" sound:

pew-te-too-te-too-te-tooo

It sounds like someone from Google actually recorded their own voice for it. LOL.
KaneElson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Wow, I have never used directory assistance. If I ever need to know a number there is always always a white pages or computer around.
faxxy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Just tried it out.

After that one SMOOTH experience, I deleted Free411 from my cellphone and added goog411 :)
slapded, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0this is good news. i take back my adwords sucks comment earlier this week.
SuckMyDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Pretty decent, but it took quite a few tries to get it to text me the directions I wanted.
nikolas, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Any Blackberry user should be stabbed if they use this over Beyond411. http://thebogles.com/blog/projects/berry411/ It's basically 411 but without calling anyone. Searches yellow/white pages and returns results.
89vision, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This really is incredible. I love the option of having the information sent to your phone via text message. Google never ceases to amaze me.
brwright, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Yes, finally I can call my physic reader cleo for free!
lump1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Now they need to make it work from GoogleTalk - I mean, I should be able to make a goog411 contact and voice-message it. Why not?
- elpepe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6um they already have that
inkhead, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3Oh hell no.. I submitted this idea in a very detailed email to Google last summer, 12 pages of details on making it free and using voice adword system, as add on to google adwords, so people could buy phone ads as well with keywords, like "Santa Clara - Taxi Cab" would recommend somebody who bought adwords.

I feel robbed, they turned down the idea, and took the time to reply, all I asked for was some money if they decided to use the idea.
- bdefrogg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Did you patent it before sending? ;-)
trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12I love that the "searching sound" you get after asking the bot a question is just a recording of some guy going "bedope bedope bedope..."

If you don't understand this comment, actually call the number and all will be made clear.
- elpepe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Kind of reminds me of the daily show religion segment wheel sfx
Boing, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7People actually use 411 still?
jumpglider, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7AOL has had this for years... 1 800- AOL-1234
AdebisiTheGamer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23WTF? I have to speak the name of the person I want the number for? I want mind reading 411 service. Come on Google!

On a side note, I welcome our Google overlords. Google is the first corporation I have ever dealt with that I look forward to dealing with. I use Google for my email, my web hosting, my maps, my searchs, my blog, my newsgroup reader, my documents, my calander, and my news feeds. Everytime I use something from Google I keep on using it because it works great. And none of it costs me any money at all!!! And people bitch because Google sells ads? LOL

I wish Google made cars, cell phones, houses, toilets, stereos and computers, because I would buy them.

Google has done more for me personally, then nearly any other company I can think of, and none of it has cost me a penny.

***** A! Google, keep it up.
- Baffles, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11No you wouldn't. Google would give it to you for free, you'd just have ads on the doors and bumpers of the car. :D
BarryMcCawqiner, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4in case you didn't know, Google already has a free text 411. Simply text Google (466453) with the business name and city, state. Moments later you'll get a text with the address and phone number. Now if they incorporated a map with it, then it'd be golden in my book...
- macdaddydwj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7isn't that a touted feature of the iPhone?
davidmsc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Absolutely amazing. I was somewhat skeptical that it would know enough about my relatively small community in Montana, but sure enough, it came through with the local pizza joint I asked for. And when I send "send text message" the msg was sent literally within 1 second to my phone, with address and phone number.

Damn. Is it possible to love Google this much?
mooseman089, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Did anybody else try calling with skypeout only to get a busy response from google?
juliocgrajales, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2G.T.O.T.F.W
hsbsitez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8bah! Its a male voice, if only it was a female voice. Then I could ....
Touchdown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I think the best part of this is the little sound effects it makes while it’s looking up a phone number. If you listen closely enough you can hear a human voice signing.
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Google Launches Free 411 Service

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