You are driving back home and think of getting some flower for your wife. Now how do you find out a good florist at that goddamned place? Well a number of local search providers on the mobile are trying to solve the problem for you.

Local search can be accessed in 3 different formats: over the phone, through your mobile browser and through sms.

Voice based local search: Basically you call up a number and the service provider gives you the required information. This method is really helpful when you need the information right now. However you might have to wait for sometime to get to the operator. 

The players

Player coverage Contact Number Call Rate Service quality
Justdial 220 cities 69999999 Local call rates Excellent
Google 2 cities (Hyderabad, Delhi) 1-800-41-999-999 Toll Free I don’t know

sms based local search

Those times when you do not want to stand in a queue to talk to an operator, you should try local search through sms. You send the search string to a short code as sms and get back the results as sms. To use the service effectively, you need to know the short code and the format for sending the search string.

The Players

Player Coverage Shortcode Cost Sample Format
Justdial 42 cities 53999 Vodafone, Airtel, BPL, Idea, Aircel, Reliance, Spice – INR 3/- per message | MTNL Mumbai-INR 1/-per message, BSNL – INR 0.80/1 per message
Asklaila Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkatta 58989 VodaFone (Rs 3.00) and Reliance (Rs 3.00).
Onyomo Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkatta 53456 Rs1 – Rs 3 FIND keyword location city

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