Category: Marketing Trends
Click-to-call features are now popping up all across the web. On Google maps, click the call link next to the search results, you enter your phone number, and the vendor immediately calls you. There is also a send-to-phone feature that sends travel and road route directions directly to your phone.
On Windows Live Local (http://local.live.com/), the click-to-call feature is called Call-for-Free. You enter your phone number on your search results, and your phone rings to connect you.
In another example, if you click on the Request for Quote button on the Autobytel.com website, the car dealership closest to you automatically call you to supply specific pricing.
Skypecasts are voice calls that are pre-scheduled realtime discussions of up to 100 phones. Skype 2.5 Beta for Mac has also just been released (Nov 15, 2006), allowing you to send SMS messages using Skype. The Mac version also support free chats with up to 10 people conferencing.
