# Goog411 is going away after November 11 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951 "2010-10-13T02:56:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/1 "2010-10-13T02:56:49Z")
I use Goog411 to look up phone numbers when I’m away from home. Well, actually, usually to complete calls, although I CAN insist on getting the details instead. Well, today, Google appears to be announcing that they are going to discontinue the feature in favor of a texting-based application for smartphones. Since I don’t have a smartphone, or any plans to get one; AND since I don’t use texting, I’d like to know what feature I will be able to use that will be replacing this. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/2 "2010-10-13T03:01:07Z")
Well that sucks. I hope they (or someone) replaces it. The cost of Verizon’s 411 is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/3 "2010-10-13T03:05:54Z")
I know this doesn’t answer your question, but it’s interesting nonetheless. > [@](#): > > Google’s free 411 service (1-800-GOOG-411) lets you find and call local businesses, but the service isn’t exactly as it seems. On the surface, it looks pretty straight forward, but spending lots of money advertising a service that has no clear potential to make money should have seemed a bit suspicious. \*\*In reality, Google’s 411 service is about training a powerful speech-to-text engine that will one day find itself in things like video search. The more sample audio they have (people looking for businesses), the more accurate their system will become. \*\* Marissa Mayer did an [interview with Infoworld](http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/07/10/23/Google-wants-your-phonemes_1.html) in October where she explains what GOOG-411 is really all about. [http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/goog-411-isnt-what-you-think/852](http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/goog-411-isnt-what-you-think/852) ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/4 "2010-10-13T03:35:11Z")
None really to be honest other than your providers own 411 service. Goog411 was great but times are changing smart phones are almost required now a days ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/5 "2010-10-13T03:50:24Z")
There’s still [free411](http://www.free411.com/), though it does have adverts from sponsors. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/6 "2010-10-13T04:00:58Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > None really to be honest other than your providers own 411 service. Goog411 was great but times are changing smart phones are almost required now a days They’re\* going to have to come up with a smartphone that costs me twenty bucks, and has a prepaid plan that will get me 400 minutes of airtime per month for thirty dollars. That’s what _my_ away-from-my-landline requirements are. ETA: Whoever “_they_” are. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/7 "2010-10-13T04:03:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > > > None really to be honest other than your providers own 411 service. Goog411 was great but times are changing smart phones are almost required now a days > > They’re\* going to have to come up with a smartphone that costs me twenty bucks, and has a prepaid plan that will get me 400 minutes of airtime per month for thirty dollars. That’s what _my_ away-from-my-landline requirements are. > > ETA: Whoever “_they_” are. No kidding. We were looking to replace two of our “dumb” phones with smartphones and oh my friggin’ gawd. The cost was outrageous! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/8 "2010-10-13T06:51:16Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > None really to be honest other than your providers own 411 service. Goog411 was great but times are changing smart phones are almost required now a days Required for what? They’re certainly not required for making and receiving phone calls, which is what i need my cellphone to do. I’m no luddite. I’m a big fan of new technology, and i think some of the latest smartphones are pretty cool. But there are still plenty of people who get by perfectly well without needing to browse the internet or watch YouTube on their phone. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/9 "2010-10-13T17:03:48Z")
Too bad you said texting was out - since Google SMS is a pretty powerful tool. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/10 "2010-10-13T21:43:52Z")
Well if you drop your landline you could use that cost for a new cell. How much does that cost? I don’t know what area you are from but where I live I can get a phone with unlimited talk text and web [data] for $45 a month flat fee. Landlines are just a waste of money now a days. Odds are the next time you need to buy a phone after the life cycle of the one you have has run out their may not be much dumb phones around anymore. Just because you have a smartphone does not mean you have to browse the internet with it or watch YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/11 "2010-10-14T00:07:08Z")
Not to sound too much like Meredith Baxter, but I’m not eager to buy bells and whistles that I don’t intend to use. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/12 "2010-10-14T01:34:56Z")
Which is understandable but you have to realize once your phone dies you probably won’t have a choice. Find me a car without power steering, AC, airbags, or ABS, it will be hard, all of those things used to be luxuries now they are standard although cars have a lot longer life than a cell phone. How much does that landline cost? Are you sure you could not scrap that? Because without texting you are SOL. I am assuming your providers 411 offer is either useless or costs to much. Hell on my smartphone I don’t even use minutes, I got the lowest minutes possible, all calls are over my data connection using VOIP and all these features were free to set up, free long distance, over seas calling, 1 number rings a number of phones depending on who’s calling. Hell as long as I have cell phone coverage my phone doubles are a wireless AP if I need it to When you say you don’t use texting does it mean you WONT use it or do not want to pay for it? Who is your wireless provider? In your case you can probably get away with pay per text since you will only be using it for 411 and probably not to often. I say scrap the landline and use the extra money to pay for the text, unless you HAVE to have it for some reason or another and are not just keeping it around “because”. I keep asking this because in my area at least no landline phone is ever cheaper than a cell, ever -Sent from my Smartphone\* \*not really but I could’ve! ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/13 "2010-10-14T05:14:57Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > Which is understandable but you have to realize once your phone dies you probably won’t have a choice. Find me a car without power steering, AC, airbags, or ABS, it will be hard, all of those things used to be luxuries now they are standard although cars have a lot longer life than a cell phone. > > How much does that landline cost? Are you sure you could not scrap that? Because without texting you are SOL. I am assuming your providers 411 offer is either useless or costs to much. > > Hell on my smartphone I don’t even use minutes, I got the lowest minutes possible, all calls are over my data connection using VOIP and all these features were free to set up, free long distance, over seas calling, 1 number rings a number of phones depending on who’s calling. Hell as long as I have cell phone coverage my phone doubles are a wireless AP if I need it to > > When you say you don’t use texting does it mean you WONT use it or do not want to pay for it? Who is your wireless provider? In your case you can probably get away with pay per text since you will only be using it for 411 and probably not to often. I say scrap the landline and use the extra money to pay for the text, unless you HAVE to have it for some reason or another and are not just keeping it around “because”. I keep asking this because in my area at least no landline phone is ever cheaper than a cell, ever What phone/carrier/plan do you have and how much does it cost? Tethering extra? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![NoiseBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NoiseBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseBomb)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/14 "2010-10-14T05:38:53Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > Which is understandable but you have to realize once your phone dies you probably won’t have a choice. Find me a car without power steering, AC, airbags, or ABS, it will be hard, all of those things used to be luxuries now they are standard although cars have a lot longer life than a cell phone. But even with all those things, there are still cars available at a reasonable (by car standards anyway) cost. Is there such a thing as a smartphone for under $50? ---
**Author:** ![falcotron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3ab097/32.png) [@falcotron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/falcotron)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/15 "2010-10-14T05:46:17Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Not to sound too much like Meredith Baxter, but I’m not eager to buy bells and whistles that I don’t intend to use. First, if you’re thinking of an iPhone, Droid, Pre, or Windows Mobile thing, those are all a class above smartphone. (We used to call them PDA phones, but I think that term is dying fast.) Second, the other posters are right. When I last worked in the industry (around 2007), the common wisdom was that by early his decade, dumb phones and feature phones would be gone, and only smartphones and PDA phones would be left. In fact, even in 2007, I remember going to the Sprint Store to get the dumbest phone I could as a backup for when my Treo 650 PDA phone was acting up. What I got, for negative money (cost $20, had a $30 rebate), was already pushing the edge between feature phones and smartphones. It had a full QVGA screen (plus a second 2-line screen when flipped closed), a WAP/iMode browser, a limited selection of 3rd-party apps, a cable to sync contacts with a computer, MMS, etc. And that was 3-1/2 years ago. Nowadays, there are full-on smartphones for under $30, and things that push the boundaries of a PDA for $50. You’re probably never getting a dumb phone again. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/16 "2010-10-14T17:42:17Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > What phone/carrier/plan do you have and how much does it cost? Tethering extra? > > Thanks I have a Droid2, you can buy a tethering feature but you do not need to subscribe to it to tether your phone they only want you to think that. Just like how I can use my GPS without having to buy Verizons VZ Navigator. As for the VOIP its a couple step process which I can send you the links to if you are really interested, it basically involves a computer with a SIP client and VOIP client, a Google Voice number as well. As for my personal plan I will have to look it up and break it down to see what it costs for my actual phone by itself, i have 4 others on the same bill so I think I get a slight discount I will have to take off gimmie a sec to get back to you. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/17 "2010-10-14T17:57:30Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Too bad you said texting was out - since Google SMS is a pretty powerful tool. If that’s the service the OP was talking about, then it doesn’t require a smartphone at all. You just send a text with your query to 466453 (“GOOGLE”), although I use 46645 (“GOOGL”) just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/18 "2010-10-15T03:38:18Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > > [@Mr.Moto](#): > > > > Too bad you said texting was out - since Google SMS is a pretty powerful tool. > > If that’s the service the OP was talking about, then it doesn’t require a smartphone at all. You just send a text with your query to 466453 (“GOOGLE”), although I use 46645 (“GOOGL”) just fine. Well, ignorance fought. I thought the SMS service was what the OP was talking about. I’ve never used the voice service (1-800-GOOG-411). ---
**Author:** ![CanTak3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@CanTak3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanTak3)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/19 "2010-10-15T03:40:31Z")
Microsoft’s service is still active. It’s exactly the same thing. 1-800-BING-411. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951/20 "2010-10-15T04:15:18Z")
Those of you saying you have to get a smart phone are very mistaken. My mom just bought a prepaid phone, and you’d better bet it wasn’t a smart phone. When you are selling the entire phone, instead of subsidizing it with a plan, you find out how expensive smart phones really are. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goog411-is-going-away-after-november-11/556951.md?page=2)