Which one(s) do you prefer and why?

By now, you've probably heard of and maybe even called at least one of the several free directory assistance phone services available out there. Me too. I've been trying to find them and try them out to compare them. There are some big names behind a bunch of them...which means there will probably be some cool features over time as they compete for you and me.

Some of the ways they differ include:

1. how much automated interaction they offer (and how good - or bad it is)
2. whether they offer operators when the automation doesn't work (and whether those operators are available on all calls or only under certain conditions)
3. whether the operators know a little about what you already did with the automation or whether they have to start over with you and ask the questions again
4. whether you can only ask for businesses or whether they also let you ask for government numbers and people like your friends and family
5. whether you have a choice of searching by a specific name or (for businesses) whether you can also search by category (which is more like looking up a business telephone number in your yellow pages phone book)
6. whether they let you look up other information besides just telephone numbers - like hours of operation of the business, directions to the number you looked up, or movies, real estate classified ads, and other sorts of "local" items
7. how they get the telephone numbers to you - announcement only, or also a choice of SMS text message to your phone
8. what types of audio ads they play (if any), how many, and how targeted they are to what you are actually looking for....oh - and the maximum duration (some of them seem to go on and on and on....)
9. what the automated voice sounds like - and also how well you can understand any text-to-speech automated announcements
10. how easy the telephone number is to remember - because none of them use "411" - they all use either a 10-digit number, or some are starting to find their ways to a single button on certain phones
11. how many people are aware of each one (because if no one knows about it, it doesn't matter how cool the service is...)

In my next post, I'll include a list of the free DA telephone numbers that I know about. Until then, as the writer, I'll say that so far, my favorite is 1-800-YellowPages (800-935-5697). The automation seems to work pretty well for me, and I like the fact that I can ALWAYS get an operator if I need one. I also like that I can request any type of listing - business, government or person, and that I can also search for businesses by category. This one is programmed into my mobile phone address. I'll keep trying them all to see what new features show up over time.

And, this may sound crazy, but I still PAY to use 411 sometimes, too. I think there's room for both business models. There are times when one is better for me than the other. I love that I now have many more choices!!! (And of course, I use my phone books or any of several Internet sites when I'm at home!) Variety - it's the spice of life!!!!

In the meantime, I'm very curious about your favorite(s) and why. How many of the free directory assistance phone services have you heard about? How many have you actually tried? Which one(s) worked best for you? Do you use them regularly? Do you also sometimes use the "traditional" (let's don't call the century-old service "old") 411? HEY - you know how they call "plain old telephone service" - "POTS"? How about if we call "plain old four one one" - "POFOO"? (sounds like, "POE-foo" - rhymes with "tofu"?) I don't know about you, but I like it! GRIN!