411 on 4INFO

4Info.net is a very useful mobile service that’s been around for a while, but I haven’t written anything about it B4 (sorry, couldn’t help myself). A recent business trip begat a hotel stay, which begat a USA Today at the door, which per the paper’s deal with 4INFO begat this post.

What the heck does 4INFO do? As they say on their site:

4INFO is a free Mobile Search service that allows you to access information and downloads at anytime, from anyplace.

I’ll have to Look Into why “Mobile Search” is in caps, but anyway, its a handy way to find all kinds of things while on the run. Most searches work over SMS (code in at 44636, or ‘4INFO’), or you can use their WAP interface or downloadable application to get the maximum goods. I love their range of services, especially those which I use on the spur of the moment such as price comparison and movie showtimes.

You can also set up a number of useful alerts. Example: 4INFO can text confirmation of a Fedex or UPS delivery of your choosing. Note that alerts and SMS service currently work only on major US carriers, but the WAP interface works anywhere that WAP works. Get the full skinny from the 4INFO FAQ and their corporate blog.

Competition? Check out Google SMS (code 46645, ‘GOOGL’) and Yahoo Mobile Search (code 92466, ‘YAHOO’). 4INFO claims it’s better geared for mobile search for a number of reasons; click here to read them all.

My take? Bookmark all three and use what works best for you.