[deandude1196]

Wired Magazine says ChaCha trumps Google for mobile searching



“Take mobile. Google works fine on the iPhone, but for quick searches on the go, ChaCha can’t be beat. Simply text your question to 242242 and you’ll get an answer sent back to you.”


Found here and here

[tomdkat]

I don't do mobile searches but I just sent a question to ChaCha from my Sansung mobile phone (nothing fancy like a smart phone, but a basic clamshell) to see how it works.

So far, I've burned three text messages, one of which appears to be an ad of sorts.

"Trumps" isn't the word I would use, in this case.

EDIT: Ok, it took a total of 6 text messages to get the answer to the question: "How many songs are on the 'off the wall' album?". Two messages were sent from me (one to ask the question and one to stop the replies) and four were sent by ChaCha, one of which contained my answer.

Peace...

[deandude1196]

Thats weird. It works for me. I sent one (TIP: you have to wait a min or two or three) and then got my answer in a simple one text message. My phone is the motorola razor.

[tomdkat]

It also worked for me, but it took a total of 6 text messages. Two came from me and four from ChaCha.

The exchange went something like this:

TDK: How many songs are on the 'off the wall' album
ChaCha: I got your question and the answer will come soon. Send HELP to get help and STOP to terminate the session
ChaCha: We're still working on your answer. (ad copy followed next)
ChaCha: There are 10 songs on the album (3 were listed and some other stuff was sent which ended with "Jack", maybe the guy who sent the answer)
TDK: STOP
ChaCha: Your session has been terminated. Send us a text message or call us

EDIT: I did have to wait a few minutes before I got the "we're still working on your answer" text message. For those without unlimited text messaging on their mobile phone plans, services like this can be quite costly. If a Google search on a mobile device behaves anything like a Google search on a traditional computer, I would probably opt for the Google search over this kind of service.

Peace...

[deandude1196]

If Chacha always sends a add after you send a text to them then couldnt you just delete the first one saying we have it, delete the 2nd one with the adds, read this one since it has the answer, and then delete this one since it says that service has been terminated. (delete the text messages before you open them up and loose the minute)

And for such a long time to get the answer they say they dont need any more people to help solve questions. See here

[deandude1196]

I suscribe to ESPN and on of the things it was talking about was ChaCha. It was on Page 59 of the February 9th, 2009 issue. See here for the article online.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by deandude1196

If Chacha always sends a add after you send a text to them then couldnt you just delete the first one saying we have it, delete the 2nd one with the adds, read this one since it has the answer, and then delete this one since it says that service has been terminated. (delete the text messages before you open them up and loose the minute)

I have T-Mobile and I'm charged for sending and receiving text messages. So, I've already been "charged" by virtue of them sending me the message, not by my reading it. Text messages are not drawn from my airtime minutes.

I don't plan on using the service again but I also didn't expect this experiment to cost me 6 text messages either.

Peace...