Shopping from your cell phone with Froogle Wireless by Jakob Jelling

Shopping from your cell phone with Froogle Wireless by Jakob Jelling

Many surfers already know about Froogle, Google's shopping portal that is still in beta testing. Google has now expanded their Froogle service so that it is available on WML-enabled cellular phones. Most newer cell phones that can connect to the Internet have this capability.

Users just need to enter wml.froogle.com in their cell phone browser, enter their product search terms, and scroll through results to find what they're looking for. The biggest advantage of this Froogle Wireless feature for consumers is the ability to comparison shop, no matter where they are.

Most people who have shopped on the Internet know you can often find significantly lower prices online if you are willing to wait for shipment. The problem in the past was that it was difficult to comparison shop between virtual merchants and brick & mortar stores.

As an example, when most of us are shopping at our local computer store, and notice they have blank CDs on sale, our first instinct is to stock up because the price looks so good by comparison to their regular price. But with an Internet-ready cell phone and Froogle Wireless, you would be able to search Froogle right from the store, and compare blank CD prices from online merchants with the sale price at the store. Taking into account shipping costs, whether you need the CDs immediately, and local sales taxes, you can then make an informed decision as to the true value of the sale price.

Since Froogle and Froogle Wireless are both in beta testing, some nice-to-have features such as sorting by price aren't yet available. This can be a problem when using a slower connection over a cell phone, but keep an eye out for improvements - Froogle Wireless will likely help you save money in real-time very soon!
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

Expert help from Google Answers by Jakob Jelling

Expert help from Google Answers by Jakob Jelling

Web users turn to search engines for answers to their questions. This is usually done through various levels of searching the engine's database. Sometimes though, no matter how hard they try, searchers can't find the information they need. Maybe they're not familiar with how to narrow and focus searches, or they may not have enough background in the subject they're researching to recognize the answer they need. Google Answers offers a solution.

With Google Answers, you hire an experienced researcher or specialist in your field of inquiry to provide answers to your questions. In a sense, this process works much like bidding on an item at eBay or hiring work done through a freelancer web site. You will create a Google Answers profile, a nickname, enter your credit card information, and when you post your questions, you specify how much you're willing to pay for answers and an expiration date for replies.

There is a 50 cent per question listing fee, and your payment offer for an answer can range from $2.00 to $200.00 currently. Your offered price needs to be high enough to justify and compensate the time a Google researcher will spend finding an answer. Researchers receive 75% of your offered fee, and Google receives the remainder to help support the Google Answers service. Once you receive an answer, your credit card will be charged the offer amount you made for that answer.

Previously asked questions and answers are posted, searchable, and freely available at the Google Answers site. Other users may make comments on the questions and answers, to help clarify the information you receive.

Google Answers isn't magic. They can't answer unanswerable questions, and they won't provide medical, legal, or financial advice. But for other tough questions that you just can't find an answer for on your own, Google Answers may be, well, the answer!
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.