Back in May I wrote about Why I Don't Need a Smartphone.  It was a popular post with lots of comments, but I was most intrigued by the comment left by Kara.  She said:

If you have a texting plan, you can do both of those things you mentioned just by texting Google (466453) it spells out G-O-O-G-L-E on your number pad. Great for finding numbers and directions and lots of other stuff, and doesn’t cost a thing other than a text! I do have a smartphone and I LOVE it, but there are many things you can do on a regular phone that you just might not realize. http://www.google.com/mobile/sms/

After Kara left that comment I started to use this option on my cell phone as I do have unlimited text messaging.

I love it!  It's so simple. You just type a text message and send to Google and within seconds, I mean literally a second or two later you'll have your answer.  I have found there has been a bit of a learning curve, and sometimes it takes a few tries to learn how to ask Google in order to get back the answer that I'm expecting. For example, the first time I asked Google for directions I typed:

Directions to 1234 E. Mohave, Phoenix, AZ to 4500 E. Camelback, Phoenix, AZ (this is the wrong way to ask Google)

Google sent back a text stating it could not find anything, and eventually I learned all I really need to do is type in the first address the word “to” and the second address, like this:

1234 E. Mohave, Phoenix, AZ to 4500 E. Camelback, Phoenix, AZ (this is the right way to ask Google for directions)

Interestingly enough, I have found it's a lot easier to find a phone number for a business using Google texting.  When I use my computer, I get a ton of results, but on the phone I only get back one or sometimes two texts. This is great.

Here are a few other things I've learned:

Check the weather in any city and state, or anywhere in the world for that matter:

weather sydney, australia

weather new york city, ny

If you are looking for the address and/or phone number to a specific store, you'll need the zip code and this is what works:

Target 85008

If you don't know the zip code, but you know the name of the street the store is on, this works:

Walmart Elliot Phoenix

Speaking of texting and phones, I found out about this company Dawurm will allow you to enter keywords and they will search the various coupon sites (Social Media, Groupon, etc.) and send you a text if they find a coupon which includes your keyword.  I would love to get a coupon to visit my favorite Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chao, so I set up a text alert with the word “brazilian”.  You can probably guess what I've received in alerts so far… waxing… so far no restaurant coupons.  But this is a cool service which is free.

Thank you, Kara for telling me about this very neat feature!  I have used it dozens of times since learning about it.  No longer do I have to call my son for directions, or to find a store in a certain area.  And no more expensive calls to information for phone numbers.

Do you know about this?  Do you use it, what do you think of it?