Google is gearing up to update its iPhone search app with voice commands. Unlike its existing GOOG-411 tool, the iPhone app will attempt to return results from just about any question one might think to ask, not just business locations and phone numbers.
A new feature for Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) iPhone search application that listens to spoken searches will be made available soon, according to the search company's iPhone application page.
At press time, the feature had not been rolled out through Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) online App Store, though The New York Times has reported it may come as early as Friday.
As it's currently available, Google's iPhone search app lets users type in search questions via the device's keyboard, and it delivers location-aware results. So users looking to find a local pizzeria can type in "pizza" and get the results mapped.
However, Google isn't just looking to help fill hungry iPhone user bellies. With the new feature, most any spoken question can return search results, making iPhone owners even faster masters of trivia. With the expected app, instead of tapping out "What is the speed of sound?" users can speak it. Typing will still be enabled, if the user prefers.
So what happens next? Is the iPhone powerful enough to translate trillions of human phrases?
As it turns out, the iPhone doesn't do the heavy lifting. It reportedly records the spoken phrase and uploads it to Google's servers, which then figure out the intent and generate the search -- incorporating location-specific information, too. (Hence the ability to offer up local pizzerias.)
The results are sent back to the iPhone and presented in an iPhone screen-friendly format.
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