Oct 9, 2010 10:12 GMT  ·  By

Google will be shutting down its free directory service 1-800-GOOG-411. The company has announced that the service will no longer be available starting November 12, 2010.

GOOG-411 is a voice-activated service and is the first voice recognition product Google offered. It was used primarily as a way to research and develop the company's voice technologies.

"Back in 2007 we launched 1-800-GOOG-411, a voice-powered directory assistance service that connects you quickly to businesses across the U.S. and Canada. On November 12, 2010, we will shut down the service," Google announced.

"GOOG-411 was the first speech recognition service from Google and helped provide a foundation for more ambitious services now available on smartphones," the announcement added.

The service enabled callers to find businesses and other information. Google is not saying how successful it proved, but the company probably got what it wanted out of the product.

For Google it was never a matter of profit, the service was done with research in mind. It needed a large scale product to develop its voice recognition technologies and a 411 service fitted the bill.

Google is now focusing on its voice-activated tools for smartphones and is de-emphasizing the call service. At this point, its voice technologies are rather advanced and available in a number of products, especially on the mobile front. Android phones have integrated voice-activated features and the Google mobile applications for the iPhone and other platforms.

However if you don't have a smartphone you're not completely out of luck, Google is still offering an alternative to the directory service, albeit not a particularly appealing one.

"If you don’t use a smartphone, and you’re trying to call a business, you can send a text message with the name and location of the business to 466453 ('GOOGLE') and we’ll text you the information," Google explained.