Ask.com has launched a really neat new feature for their mobile search engine called “Click to Speak.” The new feature is available without a download on any mobile browser and gives you directions between any address. Simply point your phone’s browser to mobile.ask.com and choose the new Voice Entry option. You will be prompted to call the number, and a very friendly voice greets you and asks a few questions.
Once you’ve told them where you are and where you want to go, you’re sent an SMS that contains a link to view your directions, turn by turn, with a map at the bottom. I tried this on my iPhone and it worked a charm.
The cool thing about this is that it works on any mobile phone, on any network. Quite possibly the easiest way to get directions when mobile. There’s nothing to download, and the only personal information you’re passing along is your phone number. There’s a few drawbacks, since you can’t really search for the closest ATM or McDonald’s, for instance.
Yet another really cool way to use speech-to-text technology in the mobile arena, and hopefully we’ll see more like this. I’d like to be able to call a number and tell them I want the address to the closest On The Border restaurant and have the address texted to me. Now THAT would be awesome.
Props to Ask.com for being the first with something like this. The service is provided by Dial Directions.
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Whatleydude on 
Comment by Amit Desai on 4 January 2008:
Ricky, I think the phone number you want exists - dial the word D-I-R-E-C-T-I-O-N-S on your keypad (which is 347-328-4667). DIRECTIONS is Dial Directions’ free nationwide phone service for “directions assistance”, launched a few months back.
Your destination can be an address - or a business chain, like “On the Border” or “Starbucks” (or even “gas station”). If you ask for a business chain, you then give your starting location, and we send directions to the location closest to you. Hope this helps.
P.S. Dial Directions also allows event organizers to self-publish their event as a destination in DIRECTIONS. Just go to our website (www.dialdirections.com), click on Post an Event, and enter your event name and address. After that, anyone can just call DIRECTIONS and ask for “Ricky’s New Year’s Party”.
Comment by Ricky on 4 January 2008:
Awesome, Amit, thanks so much for the update!
Pingback by SMS Text News » Archives » ChaCha Offers On-The-Go Q&As on 4 January 2008:
[...] and you shall receive, eh? Yesterday I posted about Ask.com’s new mobile directions service, and reader Amit (who apparently works at Dial Directions) left a comment informing me of more [...]