Symetri Blog

It's the 411 on ...well, the 411. Really. GOOG-411; It's just like calling information. Only way cooler because it's Google. The Google Labs Page.

Here's the deal: you dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-4664-411). You say the City and State you are looking for. You say the business name (or category). It will connect you. For free. Yay!

But how does it really work?

I love Indian food, so I thought I'd give it a little challenge looking for "The Ceramic Grill" in High Point, NC, near where I work. I dialed the number (Google is bold, I'm in italics).

"Calls recorded for quality. GOOG 411. Experimental. What city and state?"
"High Point, North Carolina."
"High Point, North Carolina."
"What Business or Category?"
"Ceramic Grill"
"Ceramics Grill. If this is not right, say 'go back.'"
I wasn't sure it got me, so I said "Go back."
"High Point, North Carolina."
"What Business or Category?"
"Ceramic Grill"
"No Match. Try Again. What Business or Category?"
"Ceramic Grill"
Ceramic. If-
"Go back."
"High Point, North Carolina."
"What Business or Category?"
"Ceramic Grill"
"Ceramics Grill. If this is not right, say 'go back.'"
Okay, let's see what they got.
"I'll connect you or you can say 'details' or 'go back.'"
"Details."

And they proceeded with the correct details of the Ceramic Grill. I guess Google had it right the first time.

Saying something that doesn't have a direct match will still produce results, just like a Google search will. Saying a category will produce a top 9 so you can punch a number and get those details or connect. Shouting "Can't we have anything nice?" or "You don't know me!" produces no results.

And the bestest? Prank calls, of course. Making this phone call brings up 1-800-4664-411 on the caller ID of the recipient. Okay, so it's too cool to use for that purpose. Maybe.

Give it a try! And when you're done, if you're in the neighborhood, drop me a line and we'll hit the Ceramic Grill (soooo good).

Labels: gadgets, google