Free Cell Phone Direction Service Gets Voice Recognition BoostFree Cell Phone Direction Service Gets Voice Recognition Boost

A free cell phone service that provides text messages with MapQuest directions expanded its coverage nationwide on Tuesday.

Parent company, Dial Directions said its free service, DIR-ECT-IONS, is now available in all cities in the continental United States. The service relies on speech recognition and voice interface technology. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other metro areas launched a limited release over the summer.

Callers dialing 347-328-4667 tell the voice-activated service their originating location and their destination and receive instant text messages with MapQuest driving directions. Callers can also ask for chain restaurants and businesses and receive directions to the nearest location.

The service has also introduced a new mobile feature called Meet Me, which lets cell phone owners schedule social events, invite friends and send them directions by placing a free cell phone call.

"DIR-ECT-IONS is making mobile directions and other location-based services easy and available to mainstream cell phone users," Amit Desai, co-founder and chief product officer of Dial Directions, said in a prepared statement. "Its popularity is due to voice-activation that's easy to use, accurate, free and accessible from all cell phones."

Desai touts the service as "the missing link between location-based services (LBS) and voice-activated directory assistance (411) services."

Chris Hazelton, senior analyst for IDC's Mobile Device Technology and Trends program, said: "The mobile phone is at the center of the location-based services revolution.

"With increasing government regulations limiting the use of mobile phones by drivers, voice-activated services provide a simple, easy to use alternative to more complex input methods," he said in a prepared statement.