Free cellular phone number lookup

Byline: Dan O'Shea

You can't use Verizon Wireless Superpages On the Go as a booster seat, or a weapon for killing large insects, or any of the other things people use paper-based phonebooks for when they're not searching for phone numbers in them. But, with Superpages On the Go, you can carry around a rapidly increasing amount of valuable directory content without breaking your back.

The carrier just announced its 2.0 version of the application, which features nationwide access to content such as white and Yellow Pages listings; reverse number lookup; weather reports and forecasts; Mobil Travel Guide restaurant and hotel reviews; maps and driving directions; and movie information, including show times, locations and feature highlights.

"The behavioral aspect is emerging now with people using mobile data in this way to access basic information when they're on the go," said Patrick Marshall, vice president of advanced products and marketing at Verizon Information Services.

Verizon Wireless so far has Superpages On the Go available on three LG Electronics phones, but it is also working closely with other handset-makers to roll out the BREW/Symbian/J2ME application on their models, according to Marshall.

Though handset memory and network bandwidth might have been gating factors to the effectiveness of such applications before, those gates are now opening wide. "As phone memory increases, we'll do more, and put the application on more devices," Marshall said. "Also, with Verizon Wireless rolling out EV-DO nationwide, the network bandwidth is starting to ratchet up."

The company plans to release more new versions of the application more frequently, leading up to Version 3.0, which Marshall said "will be all about multi-modality, using natural language and voice recognition to access directory content." The interim versions will add more information to basic listings - details such as the different brands of watches that a watch store offers, or the different areas of expertise for doctors and lawyers.

"We'll append this information to existing listings for free, but of course, they can pay more to embellish it from there," Marshall said.

As its product roadmap becomes reality, Verizon Wireless also is paying close attention to the ongoing industry debate regarding the establishment of a common directory of individuals' personal mobile phone numbers. "It's down the line somewhere in the product roadmap, but plenty of business people already ask us to publish their mobile numbers rather than their landline numbers," Marshall said. "We think we can be a trusted repository for a mobile number directory because we can maintain the integrity and privacy of those listings. We've been doing it for 100 years."