The free 411 service, Live Search 411, is a mobile service developed in partnership with recently acquired TellMe. You can get the service on any phone by dialing 1-800-CALL-411 (1-800-225-5411).

Like GOOG 411 users can get local directory service. All you have to do is say the city and state, then ask for the business or category to hear a list of options. However, the two services differ in their details. Live Search 411 also offer other services, such as movie times, weather, and traffic info. Like Google, internet enabled phones can have the results text messaged to them with a link to a map, but no directions. Those of you with really old phones and a need for directions can still try Dial Directions, a service that sends them to you in plain text over SMS.

They also differ in some smaller ways as well. Live Search prompts the user for input more often than GOOG 411, which assumes a lot of responses unless the user says otherwise. Live 411 lets you search by city district as well, which is useful if you want to find a restaurant around where you live. I found the voice recognition on both services to be equal, with both failing for names of some Italian restaurants I searched.

The fight between these well financed services will likely be a long one, and no one’s making any money yet.

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If the patent is enforceable, and Jingle has the stomach to try, it will be a significant hurdle for their competitors. The company has raised significant capital (over $60 million), but that is nothing compared to the resources of Google and AT&T. If those companies are serious about this business, it could get ugly in the courtroom.

When we last heard from the company, they claimed to be receiving 17 million monthly calls and had grabbed over 6% of the U.S. market for directory assistance calls.

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Goog-411 can be accessed by dialing 1-800-GOOG-411. The product is completely automated and there is no way to talk to a human for additional or clarifying information. You tell it your city and state, and then ask for a specific business or business category. In my tests the product was excellent. Although the voice recognition was only working at about 70% efficiency, I just said “back” and retried when it didn’t understand what I said. Results are spoken back or text messaged back to you, and you are automatically put through to the phone number requested.

GOOG-411 is using Google’s normal local business information available on Google Maps and elsewhere. Businesses that want to add or correct data can do so here.

The product competes head on with Jingle Networks, which has taken 6% market share in the U.S. 411 business over the last year. AT&T is also experimenting with free 411 calls. None of these products come anywhere close to as good as TellMe’s rich client business information tool for mobile phones, but few phones support TellMe at this time (TellMe was recently acquired by Microsoft).

The paid 411 market is so dead. I’m betting these free alternatives take at least 50% market share within a couple of years.

Update: This is actually a product that Google’s been testing in various formats for some time. Steve Poland (a regular contributor here) is pointing me to some posts (and here) by Greg Sterling from last year that discuss this. The earliest reports on this are from October 2006, and the service may be from an acquisition of 1-877-520-FIND. More information here.

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About 2.6 billion mobile 411 calls are made in the U.S. each year, and is a $7 billion/year market. Jingle reports that they received 17 million calls in February, and have had 170 million calls total (they just recently announced their 100 millionth call last November).

The company has raised a boatload of cash – over $60 million to date – and AT&T recently started competing with them.

Jingle makes money from short advertisements played to the caller before the requested phone number is delivered. Given their stellar growth, many consumers are obviously willing to give up 12 seconds of their life to avoid 411 fees that range up to $3 per call.

Last October I interviewed Jingle CEO George Garrick and investor Josh Kopelman. Listen to the podcast over at TalkCrunch.

On a related note, Tellme’s new mobile voice activated 411 product is also free and absolutely stunning.

[Update: Originally, this post said 1-800-FEE411 had 6 percent market share of all U.S. 411 calls. The company later clarified that figure was for mobile 411 calls. Their market share for total U.S. directory assistance calls at the time of this post was 4 percent.}

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Jingle’s success has been significant. They have raised over $60 million and have quickly taken 3% of the U.S. 411 market. Jingle has taken over 100 million 411 calls to date. We interviewed Jingle Networks CEO George Garrick and investor Josh Kopelman back in October – listen to it here. Our previous coverage on TechCrunch is here.

AT&T’s service, which will be available at 800-Yellowpages, looks to be very similar, although it is currently available only in Bakersfield, CA, Oklahoma City, OK, and Columbus, OH. Instead of the one advertisement that Jingle plays, however, AT&T will be playing up to four ads, from 5-10 seconds each. That’s asking a lot of their customers (up to 40 seconds of ads before the information is given), but AT&T may be able to compete based on quality of information, something that Jingle has been criticized for in the past. The main product page for 800-Yellowpages is here, and the FAQs are here.

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So while carriers continue to charge an average of $1.25 for each 411 call, Jingle Networks is providing the same service for free and adding a fifteen second advertisement after you request a phone number but before you are given the results. Consumers don’t seem to mind the advertising – less than a year after launch they claimed to have taken 3% of the total U.S. market for 411 calls, with 450,000 calls per day (out of 6 billion total yearly 411 calls).

Today Jingle Networks announced a fourth round of financing – $30 million from Goldman Sachs and Hearst Corporation, at a valuation of around $150 million. This comes after a $26 million round in April 2006, a $5 million round in December 2005 and a small angel round of financing last year.

I spoke to CEO George Garrick and early investor Josh Kopelman today about the financing and the Free-411 business in general. Listen to the podcast at TalkCrunch.

Advertisers include 1-800-flowers, 1-800-Mattress, 1-800-Contacts, CBS, Discount Tire, ID Media, Ingenio, OMD, Roto Rooter, The South Beach Diet, Vonage and Zagat Survey. In many cases users are given the opportunity to go to an advertiser instead of their requested phone number. For example, if you request a number for a local florist, you may be asked if you’d rather try 1-800-flowers with a discount coupon instead.

Ultimately 411 is just another way for people to search for information, and Google will clearly be eyeing this space as the company matures.

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Our earlier profile of Free411 is here. The service is a free alternative to $1-$2 directory calls. The catch? You have to listen to a 12 second advertisement.

It works mostly like normal directory assistance. You dial their phone number and go through an automated system that asks for the location, type of listing and listing name. While you are waiting for the number, you must listen to a 12 second advertisement from a competitor to the service. If you choose to use the competitor instead, you simply dial “1″ to redirect your call.

Another difference is that if there is no local advertiser for the business type you have requested, the business receiving the call hears a short message at the beginning of the call telling them that the call is via Free-411. A tele-sales group follows up with the business to try to get them to advertise. Free-411 claims a 13% success rate in converting businesses to advertisers.

And they are seeing explosive growth. Free411 is now handling 7 million calls per month – out of a total of 500 million directory assistance calls per month in the U.S. That’s about 1.5% of the total market. Investor Josh Kopelman from First Round Capital has another way of looking at it: “1-800-FREE411 has the potential to shrink an $8 billion market.”

Directory assistance calls are expensive – $1 and higher – and yet 6 billion of them are made every year in the U.S. 1-800-free-411 is a new and brilliant service from Jingle Networks that provides this service to consumers for free.

1-800-FREE411 was created to provide callers with a free alternative to the skyrocketing rates being charged by phone companies for directory assistance (411).

The service is made possible by thousands of national and local businesses who sponsor this service with brief valuable audio advertisements that are played to callers who request businesses in their yellow pages category. This advertising model allows businesses to acquire new customers over the phone, cost effectively, with little or no risk. Meanwhile callers get free directory assistance, potentially saving each of them thousand of dollars per year.

The company was founded by veteran advertising and technology executives who pioneered some of the most innovative and successful advertising solutions in online media and now they are opening yet another channel for businesses to acquire new customers. This time, it’s over the phone.

The service works mostly like normal directory assistance. You dial their phone number and go through an automated system that asks for the location, type of listing and listing name. While you are waiting for the number, you must listen to a 12 second advertisement from a competitor to the service. If you choose to use the competitor instead, you simply dial “1″ to redirect your call.

Another difference is that if there is no local advertiser for the business type you have requested, the business receiving the call hears a short message at the beginning of the call telling them that the call is via Free-411. A tele-sales group follows up with the business to try to get them to advertise. Free-411 claims a 13% success rate in converting businesses to advertisers.

Free-411 gave a presentation at DEMO last week, which is available along with additional company information here.

As a user I love this, and I would highly consider advertising with them if I owned a small business.

Team

Scott Kliger – Founder and CEO
Tom Latinovich – Founder and SVP
Joshua Kopelman – Chairman
Susan S. Bratton – Advisor