Amazon's A9.com subsidiary introduced a local business directory yesterday that supplements address and telephone number listings with a photographic tour covering more than 10 major U.S. cities.
A9.com Yellow Pages lists 14 million businesses nationwide. Much like other Internet yellow pages from Google, Yahoo and Ask Jeeves, A9's free service offers basic information, including name, address, telephone number, directions and an interactive map. The Palo Alto, CA, company also offers what it calls a “block view” image, giving consumers a feeling that they're standing on that block and looking at the storefront and neighborhood.
A9's 20 million photos initially will span most addresses in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Denver; Los Angeles; New York; Portland, OR; San Francisco; and Seattle.
Like other services, A9 also will make telephone calls that connect visitors directly to a designated business. Amazon formed the A9 subsidiary in fall 2003.
