Google Launches SMS Services in India

Google has launched Google SMS in India, a cut down search service for mobile phone users that accepts queries sent as text messages and returns results as text messages.
To do a search all you need is to send your query in the keyword[space]query format to 54664 (5GOOG). The results are delivered to your SMS Inbox. Where the results are too long to fit in one SMS, they are broken up into multiple messages. Currently seven major carriers including BSNL, Reliance and Airtel support this. At the time of writing this, Vodaphone does not support this service. The fly in the oinment is that this is a premium SMS service so all carriers charge premium rates for the outgoing SMS, though the incoming SMSs are free. BSNL with 80ps per SMS for the postpaid customers is the cheapest, while most other carriers charge Rs 3 per message.

Unlike the web search, this service focuses less on web search and more on local search services including weather, local classifieds aka yellow pages (address of restaurants, cinemas, packers and movers etc),currency conversion, reference material (e.g. population India returns the estimated population of India etc) and so on. While the web seacrh is de-emphasized in favour of local listings, you can still do a web search using the web keyword, though the results might not be as useful or even as comprehensive as the conventional web search.
You can test drive this service online here
Pros:
* Accessible on older generation mobile phones that cannot connect to the Net. You can use this even on a Nokia 1100.
* Quick and easy way to find local information virtually anytime.

Cons:

* This is a premium service. So expect to shell out as much as Rs3 per message, plus applicable taxes and surcharges.
* SMS is not really an ideal medium for displaying search results, due to the constraints on the size of each individual message. So expect to wade through multiple messages to find what you need.
* Web search is nowhere near a comprehensive or accurate as its online cousin. Also, you cannot click on a link to get more information on a result that interests you. So if you have a phone that can connect to the Net, a dataplan would be better (and more cost effective) if you plan on doing web searches from your phone.