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Just Ask.com if You Need Directions

The new service mostly addresses the male populace? you know why

Jan 7, 2008 09:51 GMT  ·  By
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Don't you dare say you've never heard of this before, because it isn't true and you know it! Besides, if you lie, it will count on Santa's list of people who have been good and/or naughty for the Christmas to come. Asking directions is an expiation for some drivers who feel that they are stranded in an ocean of humiliation the moment they pull over and ask somebody on the sidewalk for directions.

Understandable, but not quite. It is so because the moment you, as a Beemer driver, have to roll down the window (and I'm picturing the old-school handle right now, although I know it's obsolete), you give up the position of power, you are no longer the guy in the fancy car. You become a mortal like the others. That was to emphasize it all a bit. Not quite, because after all you do need to get to your destination and if Google Maps isn't your friend, there's not much you can do about it.

Not until now there wasn't, one of the biggest search engines on the market, Ask.com, has decided to give a helping hand to the drivers that find themselves in this position. Well? a helping... voice... or ear. Or, a shoulder to cry on, if everything fails. The ones in traffic can now connect to the free "Click to Speak" service coming via technology from Dial Directions, a startup based in Alabama that can be used with any mobile phone.

If a phone was often a driver's worst nightmare, causing many accidents because of the "no hands on steering wheel and no eyes on the road because of checking who it was that called them" syndrome, now it's going to be their best friend. The phone's browser just needs to be directed to http://www.ask.com or m.ask.com and then the "directions" link is the one for them. Or, the easier way around the Internet alternative is calling 347-627-0115.

According to InsideBayArea.com, Doug Leeds, Senior VP of product management, says that one of the key goals of this product is to reduce keystrokes, so that people find the information they are looking for faster. Well, go on, give it a call! Or a browse! Or? yeah, your pick.