Dial DIR-ECT-IONS for Help Getting Around

A couple months ago, I went to a friend's wedding in a town I'd never visited before. I had directions from the wedding invitation, but I wound up getting lost. I asked a local gas-station attendant for help, but he was as clueless as I was. If I had known I could just Dial Dir-ect-ions for help, I would have gotten there much faster and wouldn't have been rushing to get a seat before the music started. Dir-ect-ions is a new service that you can call from any cell phone, tell it where you are and where you need to go, and get a text message back with turn by turn directions--instantly.





Dir-ect-ions couldn't be simpler. The actual number, 347-328-4667, has a New York City area code, so most American cellular callers don't have to worry about long-distance fees. It's not clear whether the service works in Canada, but it definitely works anywhere in the continental United States, and it's completely free. You pay for airtime and that's all.



When you call Dir-ect-ions, an automated voice asks you where you're going. Tell the service the address or intersection you'd like to go to, and then tell it where you're currently located. The service will then tell you to hang up, and your directions will be delivered via text message. When I tried it, a few moments later I got turn-by-turn directions that were abbreviated, but good enough that I could understand them and follow them from my cell phone screen.

Dir-ect-ions also partners with a number of businesses including 7-Eleven, Borders, and Chipotle, to provide instant directions to your local store. All you have to do is select "business" when you dial Dir-ect-ions, say that you're going to the closest Chipotle, for example, and give your current address or intersection. You'll get turn-by-turn directions to the closest one via text message in a few seconds.

The service also has a list of events in multiple states across the country, so if you call and select "event," and then say the name of the event, the service can give you directions as long as it's been added to the site's listing. If you're an event planner, you can take advantage of the service by adding the event to the site's listing. Once your event is up at Dir-ect-ions, you can tell everyone to just call the service, select event, and give the name of your event; they'll all get directions via text message, and you won't have to send them out yourself. This feature could be especially useful if you're planning a party or a large event and don't want to give directions from every possible route.

Dir-ect-ions is a service worth a place on your cell phone's speed-dial. I tried it with a number of addresses I already knew, just to test how good the directions were, and they were accurate. Combine that with the fact that it's free, and you have a winner. Microsoft and Google both have numbers you can call for directory assistance and information, but neither can tell me by name where the closest Trader Joe's is when I get a craving for salsa.