Microsoft plans to announce three new voice-activated mobile search services today. The official release is timed to the Web 2.0 conference later today, but here are tsome details from press reports and a few calls with Microsoft press people. The services are voice-in and text-out, and will let users search for local businesses by speaking their question, and then seeing the answer. There will also be an option for users to speak or type their question and then hear the answer. In this scenario, users can text to TELLM (83556) with a query such as “Starbucks + the city” and get an answer.
In addition to seeing the results on their phone display, users can call the business, get a map and driving directions, or share the search results with their peers. Microsoft is also planning services allowing users to find related businesses and check out community reviews, according to this post at Investors.com. Tellme co-founder Angus Davis said the mobile search services will be available on 50 devices from Sprint and Cingular. (It work on Symbian and Java-enabled phones, and a version is planned for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform.) The new services likely will be supported through ads, Davis says.
With its acquisition of voice technology company Tellme pending (expected to close this quarter), Microsoft’s announcement illustrates how the company intends to roll out its voice search capabilities once the deal is done. The services come on the heels of Google’s launch of its own mobile search service called Goole Local Voice Search. Google offers users an 800 dial-around phone number for free local business searches using voice recognition and lets users text a query to GOOGLE (466453 on most devices) and get a text message back with search results.
Update: Tellme has released more detail on its free local search offer. Users can access the service three ways.
–By voice: Users call 1-800-555-TELL and say “business search” to find a business listing or search for movie tickets, ringtones, etc
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