by Brian Heater
Don't let it be said that Google has given up on the iPhone. They may be plugging away at their own mobile OS, Android, but the company has just bestowed Apple's popular smartphone with the gift of hearing.
The thing is, this isn't new. Not by a long shot. But this is a story with the buzzwords "Google" and "Apple" in it, and people seem to automatically think anything with "Google" and "Apple" in it is magic, like fairies and pie.
Here's the deal: a free app, developed by the search giant, is available for free through the iTunes app store. It converts spoken questions into Google searches.
The most practical application for the service--at least at the moment--is local search. Questions spoken into the phone will bring up local results in moments, as the phone determines its location.
As The New York Times points out, Google's chief competitors Yahoo and Microsoft already offer similar voice services, as well as other carriers.
And, of course, local search, as ever, offers a unique targeted opportunity for advertisers. But mobile voice search isn't a new feature, and it doesn't require a high-end phone. For instance, V-Enable's voice search app is on almost every MetroPCS phone (branded as Metro411).
MetroPCS sells low-end phones with discount, unlimited plans. Yahoo's OneSearch with Voice already runs on BlackBerry and some Nokia phones. And Nuance, for years a leader in voice recognition technology, has an "Open Voice Search" product that may be coming to several major carriers in the very near future.
