Updated 15 Feb, 2012, 6:16 pm IST

Yahoo! Adds Voice Support to oneSearch

03 Apr, 2008, 3:18 pm IST | tech2 News Staff |

Yahoo! has unveiled oneSearch 2.0, a new version of its mobile search service, that includes features like voice-enabled search, search assist, idle screen access and open search results.

To make voice-enabled search possible Yahoo! is partnering with vlingo, a leading speech-recognition company. With the voice-enabled version of Yahoo! oneSearch, consumers can search for anything, including flight numbers, locations, Web site names, local restaurants, and more, by simply speaking. For example, a search query like "N-C-Double-A" will returns a set of results highlighting the latest tournament scores, upcoming game times, and breaking news. Yahoo! oneSearch with Voice lets consumers perform "wide open" searches – returning relevant results for practically every kind of query.

Consumers have to simply speak whatever they are looking for to have access to instant answers.

Available beginning today for select Blackberry devices including the 8800 series, Curve, and Pearl in the United States, the new voice-enabled Yahoo! oneSearch can be downloaded from http://m.yahoo.com/voice. Over the coming months, the product is expected to support additional devices and become available internationally.

Yahoo! oneSearch with Search Assist provides faster and easier input, predictive text completion and contextual recommendations that recommends more refined results than the user's initial query.

At launch, Search Assist is available for the iPhone and is expected to become available on additional AJAX-compatible devices over the coming months.

Yahoo! also plans to make it easier to access the search box. The company today also previewed an innovative idle screen search service that makes it easier to search on the phone by integrating the search box right into the main screen. The idle screen will give users one-click access to Yahoo! oneSearch and the Internet. Searching will be easier and faster, as users will not be required to open their browser.

This idle screen solution is expected to roll out in Q2 2008.

"With the launch of Yahoo! oneSearch in 2007, we revolutionized mobile search by re-creating search specifically for the mobile phone, focusing on answers, not just Web links. In just over a year, we signed 29 partnerships with carriers across the globe, covering more than 600 million consumers under contract," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo! "With Yahoo! oneSearch 2.0, we are fundamentally changing the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones."

Yahoo! took a major step forward in enhancing its popular Yahoo! oneSearch service by previewing plans to open up mobile search results to publishers and developers across the Internet. By enabling publishers to integrate relevant content into the Yahoo! oneSearch results, it is more likely that consumers will be able to find exactly what they’re looking for.