Provided is a system and method for providing an information retrieval service on a mobile computing device such as a wireless computer or cellular telephone. The user of a mobile computing device provides vocal, visual or textual data to the service provider. The service scans a transmitted data to convert the data into a digital form and the data is converted into a text file. The service provider performs analytical computations on the data in the text file and, using context and preference rules, produces and transmits information of value to the user. In addition, the service may request additional information from the user for the purpose of better servicing the query. A query to the claimed service may be modified based upon configuration information stored with respect to a particular user or based upon previous queries from the particular user.