411 directory assistance calls are one of the biggest ripoffs of the mobile phone world: they cost between $1.20 and $1.75 per call, plus airtime charges. In contrast, a service like Google SMS will cost you at most 20-50 cents in text messaging charges — and you can get 3 listings per request instead of just one. That’s 3 times as much data for 1/3 the cost — hard to beat that.
For carrier by carrier details on how much you can save by avoiding this kind of gouging, check out SMS 411: Save money on 411 info calls.