Google tests speech-recognition service

Google Inc. is showcasing its speech-recognition technology with a voice search service that delivers local business listings to fixed-line and mobile users.
The offering, which is available on the company’s Google Labs site, invites users to dial a toll-free number from any phone to search for businesses by category or name. Users can opt to be connected directly to listed businesses, and wireless users can say “text message” to receive information via SMS.
The offering is available through 1-800-GOOG-411.
“Using this service, you get fast access to the same local information you’d find on Google Maps,” according to a description of the service on Google Labs. “But you don’t need a computer, you don’t need an Internet connection, and you don’t even need to use your cell-phone keypad. It’s voice-activated, and you can access from any phone (mobile or landline), in any location, at any time.”
Google is one of at least a half-dozen developers hoping to get customers to use their voice for search instead of triple-tapping information into a handset. The Internet behemoth last year was awarded a patent for its speech-recognition technology, and has experimented with voice-driven search services since 2002.
The latest offering, dubbed Google Voice Local Search, is free aside from carrier messaging charges. It is available only in the United States and “may not be available at all times and may not work for all users” because it remains an experiment, the company warned.