Yahoo launches voice commands for mobile web search (+photos)
9:29AM
Thursday April 03, 2008
By Sinead Carew and Eric Auchard
Yahoo has introduced mobile web search with voice recognition.
LAS VEGAS/SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo has revealed new features to make web search easier and more relevant to mobile phone users, the latest step in its battle with Google in the next frontier for web use.
Yahoo mobile chief Marco Boerries said his company aims to make millions of Web links more accessible on phones, by tapping deeper into the sites and by enabling consumers to use voice commands to search the web.
"This is really a sea change. This is not about simple web links any more," Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo's Connected Life unit, said in an interview ahead of a keynote speech at CTIA, the annual US wireless showcase.
Yahoo unveiled the latest version of its oneSearch service as it forges ahead with its mobile internet strategy in the face of an unsolicited Microsoft takeover bid.
The Sunnyvale, California-company has struck deals with dozens of operators around the world to reach a potential 600 million phone users with mobile internet services. Yahoo has said it is targeting deals to reach 750 million users.
