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SMS info at your fingertips: any questions?
In our have-it-all, have–it-now society the internet offers the answers to almost any question we have
Now thanks to innovative mobile phone services, you do not even need to bother to sit in front of a computer screen. The answer comes right to you on your mobile, and almost instantaneously, says Andrew Stucken
How do I do that? Called SMS information services, you text them your question to their five-digit number.
And a computer sends me back the answer? The process of answering them is not quite as automated as you might expect – indeed reassuringly human. Questions are sent to home-based researchers, poised in front of their computer screens.
They seek the answers using standard internet search engines and/or customised databases. Some researchers are even based in Australia to deal with the large number of UK night-time enquiries.
Who offers this service? At present there are three competing services on offer in the UK: AQA - which stands for Any Questions Answered – on 63336; Texperts (formerly 82ASK) on 66000; and ANSA on 87199.
Texperts has a function which could prove useful in a moment of crisis: a tie-up with web-based MultiMap which for an extra 50p per message can users send a map of their immediate vicinity.
How much does it cost? The cost on AQA and Texperts at the time of writing is £1 per question. ANSA, which describes itself as a 'fun service', costs 50p per message.
All three services promise to text you an answer within minutes.
But couldn't I just use my mobile web browser and a search engine? Quite probably, although scrolling through and sifting pages of search results on a tiny screen is far harder than on a conventional computer display.
And if you really do urgently need information it could be quicker to ask someone chosen for their ability to hunt down tailor-made answers at lightning speed.
* Andrew Stucken's opinions are his own and are for general information only. Always seek independent financial advice.
