Google will be releasing a free application for iPhone users, which allows the user to search the Internet by simply asking a question. Its as simple as placing the phone to your ear and asking “Where is the nearest Apple Store?” or “When was the Great Wall of China built?”. The application converts the captured voice into a digital file that gets sent to Google’s servers, which will then determine the exact words spoken and pass it to the Google search engine.
Leveraging on the iPhone’s location based services, search results may also at times include local information.
Currently, the application is only available for iPhone users, but Google promised that it will soon be available for other phones as well.
“We are dramatically increasing value to the advertiser through location and voice,” said Vic Gundotra, former Microsoft exec who is now heading Google’s mobile businesses division.
This new search capability is actually not the first speech search offering by Google. The firm has recently announced another service, GOOG-411 in March. GOOG-411 is an experimental directory information service, which is now a real product. Specifically, the service allows users to ask for business phone and address contact information. The iPhone application is a result of the company’s experience and from the data it had collected through the GOOG-411 service.
The free application is expected to appear in Apple’s App Store on Friday.
