Textamundo

This item appears on page 73 of the December 2009 issue.

With your cell phone and the service Textamundo, you can get an answer by text to almost any question, 24/7. The service works on 500 cell phone networks in 198 countries, with 20 active agents based in the USA, Ireland, UK, Austria, Australia and Honduras standing by to access the Internet.

Most questions are transport related (a flight’s status or “Need a taxi at Bankgok Hotel”), but you can ask for anything (sports score, weather, etc.). Send the name of a hotel, for example, and be sent its address, phone number and even GPS coordinates.

Sign up at www.textamundo.com and buy a block of 10 credits for $9.50; each answer costs one credit. To ask a question, send a text message to +1310 279 8147 (no international toll-free number yet). They try to respond within 15 minutes, and if it takes longer than 30 minutes or they can’t find an answer, you are not charged.