Using Google Mobile on Your Cell Phone
- Signing Up for Google Mobile
- Viewing Google Maps
- Displaying Traffic Information
- Displaying Driving Directions
- Finding Local Businesses
- Reading Google News
- Sending and Receiving Gmail
- Creating Mobile Blog Posts
- Searching Google on the Go
- Personalizing Your Google Mobile Search Page
- Get Other Information via Google Text Messaging
On the web, Google offers a wealth of features above and beyond basic web searching—maps, news, email, and the like. Wouldn’t it be great if you could access all these features when you’re out and about, away from your computer?
Well, you can, thanks to Google Mobile. This service lets you use your mobile phone to get the best of Google wherever you are. Now you can use your cell phone to get driving directions, avoid traffic congestion, compare product prices, check the weather forecast, send and receive email, and more—all from the convenience of your cell phone.
Signing Up for Google Mobile
To use most Google Mobile services, you must have a Java-enabled (J2ME) phone or mobile device and be subscribed to your cellular provider’s data plan. The service itself from Google is free, although you may have to pay your cellular service provider for airtime or data download fees.
To learn more about and sign up for Google Mobile, point the web browser on your desktop PC to http://www.google.com/mobile/. From there, enter the number of your mobile phone, and Google sends an invitation text message to your phone. Click the link in the text message, and you’ll see the Google Mobile home page on your cell phone’s display—the place to start using all the Google Mobile features.
(Alternately, you can point the web browser in your mobile phone to http://www.google.com/mobile/; this also takes you to the Google Mobile start page.)
The Google Mobile home page on your mobile phone includes menu items for the following services:
- Search
- Maps
- Gmail
- News
- SMS
- Blogger
Select a menu item to start that service.