From Speech Strategy News, November 2007
In September, Microsoft
announced upgrades to its Microsoft Mobile Live Search web-search service,
supported with a voice option with Sprint using the acquired Tellme platform (SSN, October 2007, p. 1). On Oct. 15,
Microsoft released the new version and announced the nationwide availability of
Live Search 411 service with toll-free access through (800) CALL-411 from any
phone at no extra charge. The service can be used to find and connect to local
businesses and other local information, such as weather updates, movie show
times, and airline information. People using a cell phone with Internet access
can also receive links to traffic maps from Live Search 411.
Microsoft and Tellme are working to integrate
Microsoft speech recognition with the Tellme platform, but Tellme is still
using the core speech recognition engines from Nuance and IBM,
heavily tuned to specific applications by Tellme. The Microsoft directory
service uses the existing Tellme capability.
Satya Nadella, corporate vice president of the
Search & Advertising Platform Group at Microsoft, said that the company is
making improvements to the core of Live Search available from a wider variety
of clients, platforms, and devices. He summarized, “Collectively, these
improvements build on the work we did in core relevance and differentiated
vertical experiences, and are an important milestone in our efforts in
delivering a comprehensive, innovative search offering that includes mobile,
mapping, Web, and local services for customers to find what they need, when
they need it, on any device.”
The updated Live Search for Windows Mobile 5.0
and 6.0 is available for free download and now includes a beta version of voice
input. The service can also utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) data on
GPS-enabled phones to provide location-aware local search for customers. Live
Search designed for use with BlackBerry devices is available as a beta version
for free download. It is a new offering designed for use on BlackBerry OS 4.0.2
(or later) phones will support GPS-enabled phones.
Users of Live Search 411 say the city and
state, ask for the business or business category, and hear a list of options.
Users can say “Connect me” to call the business, and cell phone users can ask
for a text message with a link to a map of the business.
The company’s September release included improvements in relevance
and coverage in the core Web search service and expanded the range and depth of
information available in areas where most customers were doing most of their
queries—entertainment, shopping, health, and local searches. With the
latest release, Microsoft Live service now offers more accurate and easy-to-use
driving directions, including dynamic rerouting of directions based on
real-time traffic information, one-click directions that allow drivers to get
only essential directions to their destination with no starting point needed,
and inline hints that tell drivers if they have gone too far based on local
landmarks. Coverage of bird’s-eye and 3-D imagery has been increased to cover
80% of the U.S. population.