Tellme it's not true: Microsoft's voice search on Blackberry before Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile does have and support voice-enabled functions, but this is an interesting twist. Due to better support for Java, Microsoft's Tellme subsidiary is offering its voice search for Blackberry devices before it goes live on Windows Mobile handsets. Tellme keeps track of where you are through your phone's GPS radio so your search results are local to where you are. Technically, they're local to where your phone is, but I'm assuming your phone wasn't lifted when you weren't looking.

Device owners can tap a button and speak their search query; in return, Tellme will offer local results using the Microsoft Live Search engine. It's a freebie for several Blackberry Pearl and Curve models, with more to likely follow. Want to test the Tellme service without software? Just call 1-800-555-TELL to give it a whirl and see how the results are.

(via CNN)

Comments

[Graham]

Microsoft have had voice search on Windows Mobile for nearly a year, in the form of Live Search for Mobile (http://wls.live.com).

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Which is why the first sentence reads "Windows Mobile does have and support voice-enabled functions..." ;)

[Aaron J. Walker]

It may be that TellMe was already far enough along in the development of this for the BlackBerry before the Microsoft acquisition?

Still, it doesn't look good when a Microsoft company releases something for the competition before their own product.

[Don Miller]

Kevin,

I have been using speech recogonition on my Live Search for WM6 (Sprint Mogul) for a couple of months now.

Don

[Mark]

I have used the Windows Live Search feature on Sprint's non-Windows phones, and it works beautifully. The voice recognition is far better than the WLS for WM voice recognition, and the GPS feature works great as well.

I fully recommend it to anybody. Much easier to use than Google maps on a tiny screen.