Finding Local Listings

A fast way to find businesses or services in your area is to use the Local Listings search found on the Google Web search page. Just as with the image search, you can point your mobile Web browser to either the XHTML or iMode search page. Type the category of business you are looking for in the search box, scroll down to Local Listings, select it, and press the Search button.

After you press the Search button, Google prompts you for a location, as shown in Figure 28.3. Type a city, state, or other location in the Where box. For example, type Los Alamos NM. A comma is not required. Google is smart enough to know that NM in this example is the abbreviation for New Mexico.

Figure 28.3: Find the taco you’ve been craving by searching Local Listings.

The results for your search appear with the name of the business, the address, the phone number, and the distance from the location you typed. The more specific the location you type, such as a complete street address, the more specific the distance to the business.

As with Google Maps, the local listing includes a link to the business phone number so you can highlight the phone number and click to call. Clicking the name of the business launches a Google Map of the location and allows you to get driving directions. See Chapter 27 for more information on Google Maps and driving directions.