• WHAT: An incredibly cool, fast way to get information about businesses anywhere in the U.S. by voice
• WHY: The information is delivered with maps, easy call links and more
• COST: Absolutely free

When you leave your house you've probably got the "three keys" to your life with you... your wallet, your house/car keys and your cell phone.  Sometimes I need to carry along an entire directory and, while sending text messages to Google Mobile (more information in an upcoming post) works, there's a genie inside your cell phone (well, okay, you need to download the genie first) that let's you talk to it to get information. 

Need a phone number for a business anywhere in the U.S.?  Then, after you get the number would you like the option to see a map of its location?  How about directions?  Or to click a link and call that number?   Yeah, that would be cool, wouldn't it?  If only it existed. 

Well, it does.  

TellMe (recently purchased by Microsoft) uses Java programming in an applet that you download from the TellMe site into your Java-enabled phone (their system will determine whether or not your phone is compatible).  Once on your phone using it is as simple as speaking.  Whenever I want to "wow" people with what a cell phone can do besides talk, this is the application I use.  

When you first bring up the main screen it asks you to hold down your "Send" button and say the city and state.  I have to admit that it feels kind of odd to hold down the "Send" button without actually connecting to anything - or being connected - but once you get accustomed to it you won't think twice.  The TellMe system then connects over the network to the TellMe center and processes your voice entry.  It's gotten my requests right about 20 of 25 times on the first try.  Then your next step is to speak the name of the business that you want information on.  This function has a very high accuracy rate, too, although it may not be as high as the city and state because of the variety of businesses.  (See a diagram of how the system works HERE.) 

The best part, though, is when the request is fulfilled.  You get a screen showing you the name of the business, the full address and telephone number, and three links: Call, Directions and Map.  (Plus, if the business name isn't correct, you can click the "Back" or "Start Over" buttons at the bottom of the screen.)

This service is so intuitive that it's tough to write about... it's one of those "gotta see it" wiz-bang wonders.  There's a cool graphic that you can see HERE that will explain a little more about the process, but I strongly recommend seeing if the application works on your phone and then giving it a whirl. 

This one is A+ on the "way cool" scale and A++ for functionality.  I'm guessing this one could come preinstalled on some phones in the future - it's that good.