Google is of course the undisputed king of search, but they do a lot of other neat stuff in such low-key manner that it tends to go unnoticed. One of their coolest innovations that I recently stumbled upon was the Google SMS program (https://google.com/sms). This is still a beta in their labs section and offers limited functionality, but it performs impressively nevertheless.
Google SMS basically offers various search options that a person on the road (or anyone with access to a cell phone, but not a pc) would find most useful. There are four broad categories:
Business & residential listings
Product prices
Definitions
Zip code lookup, phone lookup, search snippets and other miscellaneous stuff
Just SMS a name and state to Google and voila! you get the yellow page listing. Driving though a new area and looking for a McDonalds? No problem, just type in ’McDonalds’ and the zip code and you shall have the closest McD location.
When shopping at a retail store, if you like a product and want to compare the price instantly with prices from other online stores, just send in the model number and Google will send you back the best available prices. Zip code lookup, reverse phone lookup, definitions - all seem to be pretty useful features as well. I am sure Google will expand their offerings to include more options in the future, but it is something that is already making life a little easier.
And like most other Google services, it is free.