Mobile Solution: Google Maps

Your always on the go and Google can go with you to make your life a bit easier.

In my experience, looking up driving directions using the Palm Treo Web browser is a bit tedious. I’ve also tried to create and save MapQuest directions as a channel for Avantgo.

Google made getting directions a whole lot easier with it’s new Google Maps for mobile devices. It’s available for various models of the Treo, Blackberry and many more popular handsets. (Check out the compatible device list.) The install is under half MB and can be downloaded directly to your mobile device or installed during a sync with your desktop computer.

Once installed, you can get detailed directions and even real-time traffic for roughly 30 cities. You can zoom in and out of maps and view the locations as satellite images. Google also tries to enhance the experience with integrated search results (local business locations and contact information appear all in one place on your map).

It’s definitely useful and worth checking out, especially if you’ve been frustrated by other solutions. You can even view satellite images of your house as easily as if you were at your computer.

Download Google Maps: www.google.com/gmm

Compatible device list: www.google.com/gmm/devices.html

I hope you find it useful.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional and a Palm Treo fanatic. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Mobile Solutions: Lookup from Google with SMS

Situation: Your out and about and need to find one of the following fast:

• Thai restaurant
• Movie time
• The French translation for “coffee”

Q: What do you do?
A: Send a text message to Google, of course.

Google has continued it’s tradition of unbounded usefulness. Even if you don’t have a Web browser on your phone, you can look up a variety of useful information, real-time, via (SMS) text messaging. Simply send a text message and get the answer you need. It works suprisingly well.

SMS Quick Start
1. Start a new text message and type in your search query
2. Send the message to the number “46645″ (GOOGL)
3. You’ll receive text message(s) with results
Tip: For help send the word ‘help’ as a text message to 46645.

• Local listings: hospital San Jose CA
• Driving directions: pasadena CA to santa monica CA
• Movies: world trade center 94110
• Weather: weather dallas tx
• Stock quotes: tgt
• Q&A: population of Japan
• Glossary: define prosimian
• Translation: translate coffee in french
• Froogle: price mp3 player
• Zip code: 94043
• Area code: 650
• Calculator: 160 pounds * 4000 feet in calories
• Currency conversion: 5 usd in yen
• Sports: ny jets or boston bruins
• Help: help
• Tips: tips

See for yourself. Check out detailed instructions and a live demo of Google SMS.

I hope you find this useful.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional and Palm Treo fanatic. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Happy Birthday Google. I give thanks for…

To celebrate Google’s eighth birthday, let’s count the ways Google has affected my life and productivity.

• Thanks for being first to provide free 2GB email account.
• Thank you for Google Desktop. It’s the only utility I can use to find my Outlook emails on my Windows PC. Outlook search and even the Lookout plugin don’t do a decent job.
• Thanks for Picasa. (Loved it, but I switched to Mac and now enjoy iPhoto.)
• Thanks for the free Blogger tool, which I used to kick off my blogging hobby.
• Thanks for collecting unimaginable terabytes of data about my private surfing habits.
• Thanks for more free tools than I’d ever need. (Writely, Spreadsheet, Maps, Google Talk, Google Trends, Google Base, Google Page Creator)
• Thanks for Google Earth, so geeks can debate endlessly whether they found a topless sunbather in the satellite images.
• Thanks for Google News, especially the news alert tool.
• Thanks for providing a fertile ground for click fraud and spam blogs (splogs).
• Thanks for scanning books and getting copyright holders all riled up.
• Thanks for introducing names like “Orkut” into popular vocabulary.
• Thanks for making it easy for everyone to put annoying ads on their Web sites.
• Thanks for the Google Store, which makes it easy to buy useless stuff, such as a Pet T-shirt, Google License Plate Frame, Google Blinky Pin, Google Bike Shorts and Google Gum.
• No thanks for Fruggle. I don’t get any value out of it.
• Thanks for inciting the rumor mongers to whisper about a possible Google operating system.
• And thanks for free wi-fi in a part of the country I don’t live anywhere close to.

Wow, that probably only scratches the surface. So, here’s what I expect to see before Google’s ninth birthday:

• Church of Google. (Churgle?)
• A Google credit card. (And not a silly affinity card for a major lendor, Like “Star Trek” or “Battlestar Galactica” or “Elvis”)
• Google gas stations. (Petroogle?, Gasoogle?)
• Google mobile phones. (Moboogle?)
• Google dog walking service. (Doogle?)
• Google satellite radio.
• Google Death Ray.
• Google generic brand food to replace America’s Choice, Shopper’s Choice, Kirkland, etc.
• Google notebook batteries (Noogle?) to replace all the low quality, recalled ones that Sony sold via Apple, Dell and others.
• Google lawn seed. My grass looks horrible year after year, no matter what I do. I hope the folks in Google HQ get on that one. I want thick, green and weed-free.

Have a great year!
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who embraces Google in his daily life. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.