You can send SMS text messages to the five-digit U.S. shortcode 46645 or GOOGL on your keypad. Receiving a return message can take some time, possibly up to a minute. Be aware that although Google provides this service at no charge, your cell phone provider may charge for both outgoing and incoming text messages. Some providers have unlimited messaging plans, while others allow a certain number of messages, both outgoing and incoming, and still others charge per message.

When you need a hospital or you’re just suffering from hunger pain, you can find the right place to go using the Local Listings SMS. Find almost any type of business in a specific area or neighborhood. After you send your local listing query, Google returns a message, shown in Figure 29.1, with the following:

Figure 29.1. Find listings for hospitals, restaurants, and any other type of business.

To get a business listing, begin by entering the type of business you are looking for. This can be very general (like hospital) or specific (like St Francis); refer to Figure 29.1. Enter your Local Listing query like this:

business type . your location

When entering a business name or category, you can enter as much or as little of the name as you want. For example, enter thai, or thai restaurant. They both work exactly the same. Notice in the example above that there is a period between the business type and your location. This period is optional, but it helps Google know when you are finished typing the business and when you have started typing a location. For this reason, don’t use periods. In the example of st francis, don’t type st. francis, because it will confuse Google.

When you enter your location, you can simply use a ZIP code, or type the city and the two-letter state code, as in these examples:

Don’t worry about getting the query wrong. If it is formatted incorrectly, you either get a message from Google telling you that it is unable to find your request, or if it is formatted very badly, you may not receive a return message at all. If you don’t receive a response to your query within two or three minutes, try reformatting and resending your query.

Google loves telling you where to go. You can get driving directions in a number of Google services, so it only makes sense to get directions through SMS when you’re on the go. Format your driving directions by first typing your starting location, the word to, and then your destination. It should look like this:

starting location to destination

The start location or destination can include the following (but don’t type the + sign):

Here are some examples of queries:

The detailed driving directions include the total number of steps necessary to arrive at your destination, the estimated distance, and the estimated travel time. Each step is numbered and includes the distance you must travel along each route. When directions or turns are included, they are abbreviated to shorten the message. You can find a list of the driving direction abbreviations used by Google in Table 29.1.

Because going to the movies is often one of those spur-of-the-moment ideas you have while you’re out somewhere, you need access to movie listings. That’s how MovieFone was invented. But why waste cell phone minutes listening to endless descriptions of each movie. Now you can get the results you want quickly and right to the point. See which movies are currently playing in your area, as shown in Figure 29.3.

Figure 29.3. Typing films and a ZIP code returns all the movie showtimes in or near that ZIP code.

You can use Google SMS to find movie showtimes, theater locations, and information such as the running time, MPA rating, movie genre, and critics’ ratings.

To find movies and theater listings, send a text message to Google using one of the following formats (but don’t type the + sign):

The location can be entered as simply a ZIP code, or a city and state. If you enter a city name, you must also enter a state. Here are some example queries:

Remember that the film you are looking for must be playing in a theater near you or the query will not return a result. Before checking the movies, you may want to see what the weather is going to be like. See the next section.

You can use Google SMS to get the latest weather conditions and four-day forecast for a particular location within the United States. Simply send an SMS text message to Google with the word weather (or weather:) followed by your location. The location can be entered as a ZIP code or city and state combination. You can use these formats:

The results shown in Figure 29.4 include the following information:

Figure 29.4. Google tells you that there’s always a chance of rain in Hawaii.

When you write to your mom in Indiana and want to tell her how hot it was in Marbella, Spain, on the beach, you probably want to convert the temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit. The most important word to remember when sending conversion text messages to Google is in. For example, type 27 C in F or change it the other way, 80 F in C. See what the results look like in Figure 29.5.

Figure 29.5. Convert temperature, weight, distance, and many other things.

Try converting from one currency to another. If you’re in Europe trying to convert to Euros from dollars, the math can have you going crazy. If you can multiply by 0.78486775 in your head, you may not need the currency converter. But you may just want to give your head a rest, send Google a quick text message, and let it do the work.

Here are some other conversions that Google can do for you:

The format for sending a conversion is: amount + measure in converted measure

I’m sorry to tell you this, but there are just some things that Google SMS won’t convert. You have to use some of the online calculators to convert shakes into milliseconds or man-years into dog-years.

Google SMS could put those little handheld translator companies out of business. Not really, because SMS works only in the U.S. But, there are still many times when you need to translate English into another language. Use the Google SMS translator when you need to translate words or phrases from English into another language, as shown in Figure 29.6. For now, the list includes English into these languages:

Figure 29.6. You never know when you might want cauliflower tacos.

The format for submitting a translation query is:

translate word/s in English in/into language

Here are a couple of examples:

You also can translate phrases such as:

Sending Google SMS text messages is a sure sign of success. Another one is sending Google text messages to check on your stock portfolio. To receive stock and mutual fund information using Google SMS, send the stock or mutual fund ticker symbol.

Your result includes the most recent exchange and ECN quote for this stock (delayed), along with its volume, average volume, opening price, the day’s range, and the current market capitalization, as shown in Figure 29.7. The stock or mutual fund must be traded on a U.S. exchange. Generally, Google does not return quotes for stocks listed in the “pink sheets.”

Figure 29.7. Send a ticker symbol to Google SMS to stay on top of stock and mutual fund trading.

Send only a single stock ticker symbol per text message. Google does not understand multiple ticker symbols.

You can use these formats for sending a text message to request stock and mutual fund information:

Use the word stock when the ticker symbol is not clearly understood by Google SMS.

Want to settle a bet, answer a question that has been bugging you, or impress someone with the amazing range of your knowledge? Send text messages to Google on almost any topic.

You can get the answers to lots of questions over a very broad array of topics. You can find out who wrote certain books or who invented certain things. There is no guarantee that Google knows the answers. Tests of Q&A revealed huge holes in Google’s ability to answer things. For example, Google knew the inventor of television, but not of radio. Google knew the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, but not the author of any of the Harry Potter books. You can learn things such as the population of cities or countries, the gross domestic product (GDP) of various nations, and all sorts of other trivia (see Figure 29.8).

Here are some sample queries:

Figure 29.8. Send text messages to Google to find things such as the GDP of the Netherlands.

There is no exact format for creating a Q&A query. Basically, phrase it as what you want to know about a certain topic: question + topic. If Google does not understand your question, you may get a suggestion in return or a message telling you the reason Google can’t answer your question.

Imagine standing in a store, trying to figure out whether to buy something, and having the power of Froogle in your hand. You no longer need to wonder if you are getting a good deal. Simply send SMS messages to Froogle using Google SMS to search the prices of millions of products indexed by Froogle. You can compare prices or simply find products (see Figure 29.9).

Figure 29.9. Find prices on almost anything you can think of through Froogle SMS text messages.

Format your Froogle text messages like this:

The product in your text message can take many different forms. It can include a product name, such as MP3 player; or a brand name, such as Singer sewing machine. Searching for a book won’t require you to type in the entire title, possibly giving you the wrong results. You can simply type in the 10-digit ISBN of the book, and Froogle lets you comparison shop for the book. Most online booksellers include the ISBN of books they sell. You might first want to find the ISBN at an online store, then perform a comparison search.

You also can use Froogle to query products and prices by typing in the 8- or 12-digit number found beneath and represented by the bar code on the product, known as the UPC (Universal Product Code). Just find the bar code on the product, type the number into a Froogle text message, and find prices across the Internet.

Here are a few examples of Froogle searches using text messages to Google SMS:

Your search may result in multiple “pages” requiring you to view several text messages. Remember that Froogle returns only the top three results using Google SMS.

If someone calls you duplicitous and you don’t know whether to smile or feel hurt, pull out your phone and pretend to call someone, but type a quick text message to Google SMS. Use Google SMS to find definitions for a word or phrase the same way you use the Google search box to look up the meanings of words. Don’t worry about spelling the word correctly. We all have relied on Google to correct our spelling of difficult words, and Google SMS is no different. Type the word incorrectly, and if you are even close with your spelling, Google suggests the correct spelling, and performs the lookup, and returns your result.

Format your text message query like this:

define word or phrase

Your results appear as shown in Figure 29.10. Yes, you can be upset. Duplicitous is not a nice thing to call someone.

Figure 29.10. Define words and phrases by sending a message to Google SMS.

You never need to wonder how that game turned out or how it is going. Google SMS can give you real-time basketball, football, baseball, and hockey scores and schedules by simply typing a team name.

The results as shown in Figure 29.11 give you the score of the current or last game played, the score of the most recent game prior to the current game, and the schedule for the next game.

Figure 29.11. Get nearly real-time sports scores by sending Google a sports query.

To see sports scores, your sport must be in season. Google SMS currently allows you to query for scores from the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA. Notice that these sample queries simply consist of the team name or the team name preceded by the name of the city:

Remember to send your text message to the short code 46645 or GOOGL on most keypads. You might be wondering how it is that Google knows that eagles and sharks are team names and that you are not asking a question about eagles, or sharks. When these words are not accompanied by a question, such as How long do sharks live? Google assumes these are names.

Google continues to find new information and new ways to get it to you. You can use Google SMS for a few other things to help you through your daily information needs.

Getting ZIP codes

When you need to know what city is associated with a particular ZIP code, send an SMS message to Google SMS that simply includes the ZIP code and nothing else. The result, such as the one shown in Figure 29.12, is the ZIP code and the city with that ZIP code.

Figure 29.12. Send a ZIP code to Google SMS to find which city it represents.

Some cities, like Los Angeles, have many ZIP codes. Google SMS does not distinguish between different neighborhoods. So typing 90001 and 90002 both return Los Angeles as the city.

The format for entering a ZIP code is:

99999

Note

Google SMS understands only five-digit ZIP codes.

Getting area codes

When you see a telephone number on your caller-id and you want to know where the call originated, ask Google SMS. Type the area code as a text message, and Google returns the city associated with the area code. For queries in larger cities, the area code query, unlike the ZIP code query, usually returns a specific part of a city when the city has more than one area code. The results are displayed as shown in Figure 29.13. Enter the query like this:

999

Figure 29.13. Let your fingers do the walking by sending a text message with an area code to Google SMS.

Of course, the three digits must represent a valid area code. The first 9 can be any number from 2 to 9 and the second and third 9s can be any number from 0 to 9. For example, 111 returns a message that Google did not find any results.

Note

The first area code was 201 for New Jersey, created in 1951.

Using the calculator

People rarely carry calculators anymore. Are they doing the math in their heads like the old days? No, they are sending messages to Google SMS, which can act like a powerful scientific calculator. This is the same powerful calculator you have access to using the Google Search Box. Type almost any mathematic equation, and Google returns an answer.

Queries can be anything from simple math like 2 + 2 to trigonometry or scientific equations using constants. The results appear as a text message, as shown in Figure 29.14.

Figure 29.14. Look for answers to simple or complex equations and have the results appear on your phone.

Type your equation with or without an equal sign, and Google returns a result. Here are some of the ways you can use Google calculator through Google SMS or any Google Search Box:

percentage % of total	Example: 19 % of 200	Answer 19 % of 200 = 38
base **power	Example: 10**2	Answer 10**2 = 100

Note

When using Google calculator in a Web browser, you can use the ^ symbol, but not when sending messages to Google SMS.

You can create complex expressions by using parentheses to enclose parts of your expression. Parentheses are evaluated according to the rules of algebra; in other words, the parts of the expression enclosed in parentheses are evaluated before evaluating the entire expression.

(2 + 5) * (5/6)

Also, when expressions enclosed in parentheses appear embedded in larger expressions, the innermost expression is evaluated first. For example, in the following expression, 6 * 7 is evaluated first and then added to 5, and finally, the result is multiplied by 29.

(29 * (5 + (6 * 7)))

Constants

Constants are values represented by a term, letter, or abbreviation. For example, the letter c represents the speed of light. Avogadro’s number, 6.0221415 × 10²³, is represented by the entire phrase, Avogadro’s number. Here are some of the constants understood by Google SMS.

Avogadro’s number	6.0221415 × 1023
c	Speed of light
e	Base of the natural system of logarithms
gamma	Euler’s constant
pi	3.14159265 used to calculate the circumference of a circle

Tip

You must use valid numeric entries for the trigonometric functions, or Google cannot recognize your entry as a calculator function. For example, arcsin requires a decimal value.

Google can also give you these values:

• cosine

• tan

• cotangent

• sec (secant)

• csc (cosecant)

Inverse functions

According to Answers.com, an inverse function is a function whose relation is such that their composite is the identity function. It is often found by changing dependent and independent variables. Google includes the following inverse functions:

• arcsin

• arcos

• arctan

• sinh

• cosh

• tanh

• csch

• arcsinh

• arccsch

• Many others

Logarithms

Answers.com defines logarithms as: The power to which a base, such as 10, must be raised to produce a given number. The calculator handles the following logarithm functions.

• ln

• logarithm base e

• log logarithm base 10

• log logarithm base 2

Others

The following two functions, exp and the factorial function are also useful for scientific calculations:

• exp exponential function

• ! factorial

This is not a complete tutorial on using the calculator, but it should be enough to get you started.

Google SMS is an incredibly powerful way to access information through Google by using your phone or mobile device’s SMS text message system. This is a great way to use Google when your device does not have normal Internet access. Get local business listings, driving directions, movie showtimes, and weather forecasts; convert from one measure to another; translate from English to several other languages; get stock quotes; ask questions with snippet answers; comparison shop; and get sports scores. You also can use Google SMS to find ZIP code and area code locations or use it as a high-powered calculator.

You probably can’t remember all the cool stuff Google SMS can do, so you can download wallet-sized tip sheets from www.google.com/sms/tips.pdf. Print several of them, and post them on your car’s dashboard, your bulletin board at work, or wherever you think you may need quick help.

Remember, it’s simple and all you really need to remember is GOOGL. With all the power of Google in your cell phone, you hardly need a desktop computer. But when you do, there is so much more you can do with Google. Learn about installing the Google Pack in the next chapter.