How many times have you been in your car or out and about and needed a number and just couldn’t get to a phone book? How many times have you dialed 411 on your cell phone only to pay several dollars for that phone number, then maybe a few more cents for the operator to connect you? Well now you don’t have to pay with money, you can pay with your time and your ability to listen to an advertisement. Hey, its not all bad, they will connect you to the advertiser for FREE!!!
Simply dial 1-800-FREE411 and get the listing you need for free. It’s just like 411, only better because it doesn’t cost anything. So who pays, you ask? Our advertisers do. And should you be interested in one of their great offers, we’ll connect you free of charge.
I’m not downing the service, I haven’t even tried it. I just hate advertisements. But, as traditional 411 costs increase to combat user loss due to free services like this, an ad might be worth it for the phone number to that awesome Italian place in Chicago. Have a smart phone, no worries either. Stop over to the website free411.com and find everything you need there. But then again, if you have a smart phone you probably won’t need to use directory assistance, you let google do the work…. at least I do.
In a somewhat related story, Verizon, one of America’s largest scam companies is going to be exploiting your already ballooning cellphone bill. They think that the $76.88 a month you are paying for your mobile isn’t enough revenue for them, they want more, more, more!!! Now imagine ads all over you phone when you go online, as if there isn’t enough advertising online now.
Beginning early next year, Verizon Wireless will allow placement of banner advertisements on news, weather, sports and other Internet sites that users visit and display on their mobile phones, company executives said.
Now this next part just pisses me off even more.
Verizon officials said their initial foray would be a cautious one — they will limit where ads can appear, and exclude certain kinds of video clips — and thus may invite greater demand to place ads then they can accommodate.
Cautious one, not to scare people I suppose. You are already holding millions of users by their short and curlies with your over-priced products (and this goes for ALL cellphone carriers), and now you want to increase your revenue even more and give us a crappier product. Here is my ideal solution: if you add ads, drop our rates 40%. Then you won’t have to be cautious.
It just goes to show you how people will continue to over-pay for something that isn’t worth the money they are spending. Its like cable TV. Why pay $100/month for COMMERCIALS? If I have to pay for a service, it should be ad free. If I get a service for free, I should understand that it is probably ad supported. I hope Google starts giving away the farm and makes everything free/ad supported and puts the hurt on current mobile carriers. $19.99/month for unlimited national calling and roaming. $34.99/month for unlimited calls and unlimited data (with data speeds 25x what they are now). Then I will be happy, at least with my phone bill.
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