Send Yahoo! Search Results To Your Phone Via SMS

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.internetweek.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=59100649">http://www.internetweek.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=59100649</a><br /><br /><i>"Yahoo Inc. is providing mobile text messaging with local search from the desktop, reflecting the trend among search engines to target the growing popularity of cellular-phone messaging, particularly among teenagers and young adults. With the Yahoo service, a person can look up a restaurant or other business on the web portal's local search area and click on a "send to phone" button that will send a text message containing the name, address, phone number and cross street of the business, Yahoo officials said Friday. Depending on the carrier, the person may be able to dial the number by simply clicking on it."</i><br /><br />Sort of wrong headed thinking in my opinion. I want to be able to get the data from my phone, or PDA in my case, without the need of a desktop. Google has a true SMS service that does that already. I wonder why Yahoo! is launching something like this several months after Google did and having less versatility? Am I missing something?

[hawkeye]

I like this new service.

Google's service hasn't been as helpful as it could. Like only giving me 1 pizza place in the area when I know there are more and the one it does give me isn't even the closest business.

This way if I find the exact address, business, etc I'm looking for I can easily get the information to my phone. Granted I have to be at my desktop, so some prior planning is required.

[jimski]

If I am at my desktop, I might as well print out the address as well as a colorful map. I think they missed the part about "mobility".

[sylvangale]

Getting only 1 pizza result in a North American city has to be a bug. GOOGL listings are results from GOOGLE, GOOGLE Local, and/or Froogle searches.

Google sends 3 text messages worth of information on a text messages if there are that many. If I send a text message to GOOGLE with "Pizza ZIPCODE" I will get 3 text messages of pizza places in my area.

Now a problem is that there are so many Pizza places that you need to specify like "Pizza Hut ZIPCODE" (Google) or "Pizza Hut.ZIPCODE" (Google Local) in order to get that particular place on a listing.

GOOGL is very useful if say you go to the Mall to get a black vest for a tux and you can't find a place there with a black vest. You can GOOGL tuxedos and have your phone dial in the results in the area to find your black vest.

It's even faster (though less functional) than using your PDA via blueooth on your cell to look up a yellow page listing.

Now if Yahoo let you do an SMS request through their Yahoo Yellow Pages via SMS. I would be all over it.

[klinux]

Yahoo also came out with video search before Google. A9 came with its yellowpage/local search with store front pics. One is always one-upping each other in this competitive industry.

[posiedon7]

I use Google SMS search everyday, so far so good?

Whats the number you send the request to for Yahoo?

Thanks.

:D

[wickedfit]

It seems Yahoo! sorta did miss the idea of mobility. Different service for a different purpose I suppose.

I love Google SMS daily &amp; love it. I can see using either depending upon my needs.

If I am mobile, I'll use Google SMS. Even in a city as big as L.A., my searches come back with my specific request(s). I have to be pretty specific with something like "pizza" &amp; include a zip code, but it hasn't failed me yet. If I ever have an instance where I don't get desired results, I'd check Google on my laptop when I got home to see if I got the desired result(s).

IMHO, I imagine I wouldn't &amp; that the trick is in the specificity of the search.

If at my laptop &amp; I wanted the info on my device, I'd probably use Yahoo!'s service.

Thanks for lettin' me post my 2 cents.

[Jon Westfall]

If Yahoo added the SMS-to capability, then I think it'd have a knockout. There are times when I'm at my computer that this service would come in major handy - especially when I find exactly what I'm looking for want want to take it with me (and I'm in a hurry). I guess Google has its uses, and yahoo's will have its.

[PPCRules]

... Am I missing something?
I think so.
The idea is to get the telephone number into your phone, not to find your way when you are out-and-about. With a little planning, you can load up your phone with the info you need for a trip away from your PC.

If I am at my desktop, I might as well print out the address as well as a colorful map. I think they missed the part about "mobility".
Can you dial your cell phone from the printout? Can you consolidate all the addresses easily (on one device/sheet of paper)? What about the trees?

In short, I think it could be useful to a lot of people, although not of daily use for me. But the task for Yahoo! is to get people to know it's there and understand what it does. In this sampling, it appears that's not going to be easy.

That said, it is annoying to have to enter an email address, even if I am logged into Yahoo. And it isn't even transmitted in the SMS message.