Pimp your phone

With all the hype for Apple's revolutionary iPhone that comes out Friday, some people are beginning to regard their current cell phone with a distaste usually reserved for an unflushed toilet bowl.

But before old phones hit the sewer system, people should know that an emerging industry dubbed Voice 2.0 promises to make stale old cell phones do remarkable new feats, such as locate a nearby seafood restaurant.

And nearly all these innovative features are free, whether offered by small tech startups or heavyweights such as Microsoft and Google.

So before shelling out upward of $3,000 over the duration of the iPhone's required two-year contract -- which includes a $599 iPhone and a likely $100 monthly service and data plan from AT&T -- consider pimping out that old piece of plastic already in your pocket with free services.

For instance, Irvine-based Youmail.com offers a free voice-mail system that easily integrates into most cell phones its advanced features such as custom greetings for every caller and online access to voice-mail messages.

A free service by Seattle-based Jott.com lets people call an 800 number that transcribes voice into text and then sends it as an e-mail or text message to whomever the user chooses.

Most of these features are free because the companies providing them are still trying to figure out how to commercialize the services or build up a large base of users before launching a paid service. While others, such as free directory assistance with (800) FREE411, use embedded advertising to make money.

A new directory service from Google, (800) GOOG411, uses advanced voice recognition software and has no ads. Plus it will connect you directly to the business for free -- that beats the $1.99 AT&T charges for every national directory assistance call.

For searches in San Francisco, Google has rolled out a more advanced version of GOOG411. People can say the region of the city they want to search or name cross streets to locate nearby businesses. So, just as in the iPhone commercial, people can search the category "seafood," provide their location, and get a list of nearby restaurants. The key difference is that people must know their location with GOOG411, where the iPhone automatically provides the location and displays a Google map.

Substitute with 411 services

For people who don't want to buy an

expensive handheld device such as an

iPhone, the emerging sophistication of 411 services will provide a good substitute, said Dan Miller, founder of San Francisco-based Opus Research, which tracks the industry.

"This is local search for the rest of us," Miller said. "And you don't need a data plan for it."

The directory assistance industry generated $4 billion in 2006, almost exclusively from fee-based services such as AT&T's, Miller said. But in 2010, when the industry will generate nearly $8 billion, the majority of the revenue will be supported by advertising, Miller projects.

Microsoft bought the directory service TELL ME in March, citing a desire for more advanced voice recognition technology. The software giant sees cell phone-based searches as its next battleground with Google, Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft, said in March. The company's (800) 555-TELL even provides user-generated restaurant reviews, stock quotes and sports scores.

GrandCentral.com is a Voice 2.0 company receiving widespread praise from tech critics. The Fremont-based company provides a slew of useful features such as customized greetings, call forwarding, the ability to listen in while people are leaving voice messages, and online access to voice mail, which can be e-mailed to friends or posted to a Web site.

And that is only a partial list. The key feature GrandCentral provides is a free telephone number that acts as a gatekeeper to your other phone numbers.

After logging into GrandCentral's Web site, the free phone number, which is available with a 707 area code, can be set to ring a person's cell phone, work phone, home phone or any combination of all three depending on who is calling. Each user customizes how he or she is reached through GrandCentral's Web site.

So when your spouse calls, it can ring every phone you own -- up to six. But when a business client calls, it can be set to ring only an office phone and a company-issued cell phone. And if you are away visiting your parents where you don't get cell phone coverage, then you can set your GrandCentral number to dial you at their house, without having to give your parents' phone number out to anybody.

The service is free, at least for now. The company plans to launch its premium service in about a month, said co-founder Vincent Paquet. It will likely cost about $10 a month and include added features not available on the basic service, which will remain free, he said.

"It's a good alternative to the iPhone," Paquet said, "that doesn't require you to spend $500."

Services have their downsides

An exceptionally good GrandCentral feature is the ability to transfer a call from your cell phone to a land line by simply pressing the star key. Another is the ability to record a conversation at any time by pressing "4" on the keypad.

But all these services have their downsides. For instance, GrandCentral's features work only when people are calling you. If you make a call out, it is routed through your service provider and not GrandCentral, meaning no recording or call transfer features.

Still, some people will always want an inexpensive phone, Miller said. For them, these services will bring them the bells and whistles a cheap phone does not provide.

Of course, what makes Apple great is its ability to seamlessly integrate a broad range of cool features into a very usable design. A bunch of free ad hoc services will never match the iPhone. But it might just leave people with some extra spending money.

You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com.