Philips is offering a new, free service for cell phone users. Philips Simplicity Concierge lets you send text messages in order to find out things about cities you plan on traveling to (or are already in), such as restaurants.

No big deal there, since lots of services already offer that on mobile (most notably Google). The Philips version is purported to be easy to read, however, with the top 5 listings sent back in text format along with phone numbers.

According to The New York Times, the recommendations made by the service are being drawn from the content of Condé Nast Web sites in a $5 million deal. The service will be available on the Internet and by cellphone through the end of the year.

Philips is also experimenting with online commerce, in that text results will come with links (when appropriate, and only on Web-enabled phones) to Amazon.com so people can make purchases.

Product Tips You Can Use, by Way of Cellphone [NYT]