It's another amazing breakthrough by Google -- one with particular relevance to travel -- and yet I haven't heard it discussed by anyone, and especially not by people in the travel world.

Using your own simple cell phone -- not a costly iPhone or Blackberry or fancy upgraded device, but simply an ordinary, $29 cell phone sold by Sprint or Motorola, maybe issued free when you signed up for a plan -- you can access all sorts of important travel information from Google in the course of a trip. You can get the weather, find local restaurants, get directions, check on flights, and even translate foreign phrases.

The key to it all is Google's unique, six-digit phone number -- 466453 -- which you type in AFTER you've posed a question in the messaging section of that junky little phone. Click on messaging, then type a brief question into the phone, then type in 466453, press "send," and voilà! Google provides the answer.

You can either use full words and phrases or learn Google's syntax shortcuts. For example, you can type either "weather chicago" or simply "w chicago" and either way you'll get the current weather for the windy city along with the two-day forecast.

Though it can perform tricks useful in all walks of life (providing sports scores, stock quotes, dictionary definitions, movie times, the answers to basic questions), most of Google's mobile services seem custom-made for the traveler. Write "flight" followed by any flight number and it will give you updated flight information. Write "145 yen in usd" and it will convert currency on the fly. Write "sushi 10023" and it will list Japanese restaurants in Manhattan. You can also "translate hello in french," find out "2 us pints in liters," or learn about weather and delays at "lax airport."

To get directions, simply write "new york ny to philadelphia pa" (or use zip codes: "10018 to 19095"). Your cell phone, accessing Google, will give you distance, estimated time, and step by step driving directions.

You can even personalize the service by setting a local zip code so it will automatically find nearby results without having to bother with that step. When it comes time to travel, change the "saved location" to the zip code of your destination and then all you need to do while there is type in "pizza" and it will steer you to the nearest parlor.

Of course, unless you bought free text messages with your cellphone service, you will pay for each query, but at 10¢ a pop, that's still cheaper than directory assistance, and a whole lot handier. You can also find much more information and a list of search features available via Google mobile, at www.google.com/sms(the best source of advice) or www.google.com/mobile (less handy).

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Labels: cellphones, websites