Google experimenting with voice search on Google Maps for BlackBerry Pearl
By Dusan Belic on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 1:53 AM PST In Applications, RIM (Research in Motion)
BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Pearl (8110, 8120 and 8130 models) owners in the U.S. can now use their voice to search on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps. The speech recognition technology used is the same as the one on Google’s free directory assistance service, GOOG0411.
Google Maps for mobile team argues that the new feature is very useful, especially in situations when you can’t type, don’t know how to spell the name of the business/street, or the name itself is too long.
To try out the new feature, point the BlackBerry Pearl’s browser to www.google.com/gmm to download the latest version of the application. Afterwards, follow the three easy steps:
- Press “0″ to center the map view around your location.
- Press the left-side key and hold it while you say the name or type of business you’re looking for (for example, “pizza”).
- When you’re done speaking, release the left-side key, and Google’s mambo-jumbo will figure out what you said and find the business you’ve been looking for.
One thing to note, though, is that at the moment this feature is experimental, which means the accuracy of voice recognition will improve over time as more people start using it.
Interesting, but I wonder how useful the maps are compared with the actual directions written out — are those included, or just the map? In any case, this is nice for BlackBerry users only. For those without BBs, you can get a more complete range of listings — business, gov’t, and residential — via 1-800-FREE411, and you can have the directions to a listing texted to you immediately following the call. More practical for the majority of callers, I think.
Paul