I remember when I first started using the iPhone, the feature I found the most useful was the Maps option that loaded a Google Map with whatever address you plugged in, and then prompted you along a series of directions with your blipping GPS locator travelling along with you. Suddenly, driving in a car and getting lost became less of a worry, as here you have a course plotted out for you, whether by car, public transportation, or by foot. However, an app I recently tried out called Say Where by Excuse Me Services is even quicker than Maps, saving you the hassle of typing out an address by simply speaking it into the phone. Now, this hasn’t reached the level of Star Trek with Picard querying the computer – “Computer, locate the disturbance in Sector 4” – but it sure is a step in that direction, in the palm of our hand.

Say Where is free to download and requires no background reading to operate. Clicking on the app brings you a listing of different ways you can search, either for an address with Google Maps, a business with Google Maps or YellowPages, reviews with Yelp, or even traffic with Traffic.com. If you select to search for an address, you can opt for the GPS to use your current location, or simply say aloud a city and state to the iPhone; you then say aloud the address complete with number and street. I found that even with music playing in the background, the app was able to register my voiced requests, and if it didn’t clearly read, it would prompt me with a list of all my possible choices, usually just 3-4, never failing to have the one I sought. To speak you simply hold down the large middle onscreen button that reads, “Press while speaking.” It then brings up a map with your current position in relation to the destination, with the typical Google options of directing your course by car, public transportation, or by foot, along with the estimated time, possible traffic, and the ability to follow directions to your destination step by step. The only time the app ever became confused and read “error” – much like the iPhone exclaiming “SAY WHERE?” – was when I chose to say California in its acronym form of CA.

Say you wish to search for a business, and you do not know the address; simply use the YellowPages option to say aloud a business name, or a category – i.e. a clothing store – or even a point of interest, like a museum. You will be linked then to the YellowPages website where it will show you the results of your voiced search, sans all the needless typing; you are then shown the address, which you can choose to remember and speak aloud to Say Where if you open the app again, or you can simply stay on the YellowPages site and let it give you written and mapped directions, instead. The same goes for using Yelp! with Say Where.

Obviously, you can still use Google Maps or YellowPages or Yelp!, and they’re all excellent search mediums on their own. Say Where simply bypasses the writing part, which can often pester people when they’re on the road and already bothered by other things, like not knowing where they are, or if they passed that street already. Typing is easy enough, but why not just say it aloud and immediately get linked to the information you seek? It may only save you a precious few seconds, but it’s way cooler in principle, and not nearly as embarrassing and dorky as making a phone call to someone by saying their name.

So go ahead, try Saying it aloud.