The Daily App: YPmobile

They haven't quite gone the way of the cassette tape, but the Yellow Pages as an information source is probably thought of more as an app or Web site than a stack of dead trees where your fingers do the walking.

More than a compilation of static data, today's daily app is YPmobile, which brings categorized business listings, menus, hours, directions and user reviews to your smartphone or other mobile device running Android, iOS or Windows Phone 7. What's more, the app can even help you find the lowest gas prices in the immediate area.

We looked at the Android version and a version that came preinstalled on our Nokia Lumina 900 Windows phone. Both worked well to deliver fast, accurate information, but only the Android and iPhone versions display gas prices. The tool can be used to find coffee shops, bars and restaurants, pizza places, banks, hotels, movie theaters, auto mechanics and rentals, hospitals, dentist offices, grocery stores, taxi services and much more. It also can even search for local businesses that offer a WiFi hotspot.

If a location other than your current one is desired, simply enter an address or zip code to change the search results it finds over WiFi, 3G or 4G. You might not use it often, but when you need a tool like YPmobile, you'll be very glad it's there.