2.27.2009

Free 411 on your cell phone

How much do you pay each time you call 411 from your cell phone? It seems like ten bucks, am I right?

Google has a free, voice activated information system, whereby you can get business listings.
You don't need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device. GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free.

Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you're looking for. Example: Pizza. Then, say the city and state. GOOG-411 will give you multiple choices for pizza in the area. If you know the exact pizza place you want, then you can say it in the first place and it will connect you.
If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say "Text message" or "Map it."

Sometimes, it can't understand what I'm saying -- and it doesn't help that my children are talking loudly in the background, but it's been golden so many times that it has afforded us great eating opportunities in unfamiliar neighborhoods. (I live in Los Angeles, so there are a lot of neighborhoods -- and choices.)

2.23.2009

Magic Jack! $40 for a year's worth of phone calls...

It's a friggin' miracle! No, it's MAGIC. Yeah. Magic.

So we got the Magic Jack and within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box (30 day free trial, by the by) and plugging it into our computer, we had a new phone number with voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling blah blah blah. The works!

After the 30 day trial is over, we will pay $40 plus shipping and handling and that will give us a YEAR of free calling to the US and Canada. We provide the phone. Right now, we use Vonage, which is pretty inexpensive at $25/month. But folks: $40 a year is INSANE.

Here's the negative: the jack plugs into your computer, so your computer must remain on to receive incoming calls. Otherwise, they will go straight to voice mail. I haven't figured out the other negatives yet, but if I do, I'll let you know.

A no brainer -- and great for a new small business. I'm just saying...

2.19.2009

YAPTA! Save on Airfare!

Yapta is a newish website where you enter in your flight information so that the website can track whether the price of your airline ticket is going up or down. It will send you an email alert every time the ticket fluctuates in price. When it goes down, you can decide that now is a good time to buy.

And that’s when the fun begins…

After you purchase your ticket, you let Yapta know at what price you locked it in — and it will continue to monitor the ticket price. If it goes down again, you will get the email alert and then you immediately contact the airline, telling them that you want a voucher for the difference in cost between what you paid and what the cost is right now. Yeah, they will actually send you a voucher.

Last Summer, I bought 4 tickets to Boise for $300. The price went down three times. The lowest eventual price was $240. Can you do math? I saved $240 on those tickets.

And when I bought tickets for Denver for this Spring, I was able to apply those vouchers to my next tickets (they expire in a year, so I had motivation). End result: we are flying from LA to Denver for $77 roundtrip each.

My arm hurts because I’m patting myself on the back so much.