Yahoo brings voice recognition to mobile search

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 3 Apr 2008 at 10:54

Yahoo has released a new application that allows users to search the web with voice commands.

The feature is part of oneSearch version 2, due to be released during the summer. However, the company is offering BlackBerry users an early peek of the voice recognition technology at m.yahoo.com/voice.

According to the company, voice searches can take as little as five seconds, though slower networks may take ten to 20 seconds to return search results.

Yahoo claims that while conventional speech recognition services limit search topics to basic vocabulary, oneSearch will allow "wide open" general searches allowing people to ask for flight listings, locations, website names, restaurants or news.

oneSearch will also feature predictive search, and refine results using information gathered from previous searches, for example, typing in Starbucks may recommend links to a nearby location, Starbucks' stock price or the company's website.

Yahoo has struck deals with dozens of operators around the world to reach a potential 600 million phone users with mobile internet services. The company also says it is targeting deals to reach 750 million users.