Didgets
Last-minute gift-giving simplified
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Already late for the party, and still no present. Is there somewhere on the way we can pick it up? (Naturally, everyone's already piling into the car when you're considering this.) It's for award-winning procrastinators that Switchboard Nearbuy Merchandising was developed, first appearing on the Web at Switchboard.com nine months ago.
More recently, it's been adapted for use on wireless-Web cell phones. So far, Switchboard has partnered with AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS and Cingular Wireless (although the only Hawai'i Cingular provider, on Kaua'i, hasn't yet begun its Web phone service). Like all such services, it uses up standard phone minutes but subscribers pay no surcharge.
You type in the merchandise you want and Switchboard tells you where you can buy it locally.
You connect with the Switchboard.com database through the phone, type in the merchandise item you want, and it tells you which store in your area has it. Push a button, and you're phoning to double-check that it's in stock.
Company spokeswoman Laurie Mead said it'll take about a year for Switchboard to build up the database (through contracts with stores) so that a range of national chains and local shops are represented. For example, we checked the category of running shoes in the Honolulu area, and only the name of Sports Authority popped up. Not that running shoes make a suitable last-minute gift, anyway.
