Sprint and Microsoft offering voice + search

Sprint and Microsoft are teaming up to bring voice search capabilities to several Sprint phones using Windows Live starting on Tuesday.

Quoted from Yahoo Tech News

Microsoft is now adding automatic location detection to search results so users won't have to input their zip codes in their phones before getting local search results. Search results will include results from the Web, the phone and local information such as maps.

In addition, users of five of Sprint's high-end phones will be able to download a client that will let them use voice commands to conduct searches. Once they have the application, users press the talk button on the phone to speak a search term. If the search is for a local business, for example, the results will include directions, the ability to press a button to call the business and the option to send directions to the place to a friend via text message.

Sprint users of the Samsung a900, Samsung a920, Motorola Razr, Sanyo 840 and LG 550 phones will be able to download the voice search client. The application is based on technology from Tellme, the speech recognition company that Microsoft bought earlier this year.

The services are not exclusive so they could become available via other operators in the future, said Phil Holden, director of mobile services at Microsoft.

Seems this service is set to launch to coincide with the launching of the "revamped" Windows Live Search event scheduled for the 26th. Microsoft has been quietly pushing for more partnership with various carriers and phone makers to convince them of the benefits of Live Search over competitor offerings like Google or Yahoo.

And by seeking to embed the application and service into the phone device prior to shipping to the customers hands, Microsoft is looking to score a significant presence over the aforementioned search offerings.

With a strong statement that the service is not exclusive to Sprint, Microsoft may come knocking at the doors of T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon as well in the future.

However, this writer still remains unconvinced. Windows Live Search is not Google which, aside from my experimentations with Tafiti, is still not good enough for me to rely on as my "go to" search engine.