Finding the closest pizza parlor may now be as easy as asking your mobile phone…
“Sprint customers are getting expanded search capabilities on their mobile phones via new services from Microsoft…”
Redmond, Wash., — As part of the strategic alliance between Sprint Nextel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., the two companies are providing Sprint customers to search for Internet content on their mobile phones, including using GPS devices to deliver local Web information to users.
“Voice search with visual results by Live Search for mobile using Tellme technologies will also be available on select Sprint phones as a separate download. The new services enable people to find Web, local, and phone content easily using traditional input methods or voice.”
Starting on Tuesday, the number-three U.S. wireless company will also offer customers a download of a new voice-recognition search product from Microsoft to allow users to find local businesses by simply speaking into a handset.
The capabilities are an extension of a relationship that Microsoft and Sprint formed late last year that initially involved including Microsoft’s Live Search in the browser on Sprint phones.
Microsoft is now adding automatic location detection to search results so users would not have to input their zip codes in their phones before getting local search results. Typing in a term, such as “pizza,” delivers a list of links, including nearby pizza shops, without having to give a ZIP code or other address information.
“Search results will include results from the Web, the phone and local information such as maps. Selecting a link pulls up a map to the location and allows the user to call the shop’s phone number.”
The new GPS-enabled search allows customers to give permission to let their phone automatically identify their location to return nearby business search results, such as the closest gas station, pizza place or movie theater — all by simply typing in or, on select phones, speaking the name or category of business for which they are searching.
“The location-based and voice technologies we are delivering today with Sprint are a first in the U.S. mobile industry, bringing customers a smart and easy search experience on the phone,” Brian Arbogast, vice president of mobile services for Microsoft, said in a written statement.
It is the first offering from a wireless carrier to use the speech technology and voice database Microsoft acquired when it bought Tellme Networks this year for about $800 million.
In addition, users of five of Sprint’s high-end phones will be able to download a client that will let them use voice commands to conduct searches. Once the application is installed, users can then press the talk button on the phone to speak a search term.
“If the search is for a local business, for example, the results will include directions, the ability to press a button to call the business and the option to send directions to the place to a friend via text message.”
Sprint users of the Samsung a900, Samsung a920, Motorola Razr, Sanyo 840 and LG 550 phones will be able to download the voice search client.
Most recent Sprint phones include location-finding capabilities.
Sprint and Microsoft first teamed up in November when the Seattle-based giant’s Live Search became the default Web search engine for most Sprint phones.
Sprint’s upgraded offerings from Microsoft’s Windows Live represent the next stage of their partnership to cash in on advertising from a budding mobile Internet search market.
“It is not single-handedly going to unlock the potential for local mobile search, but it is certainly a step in the right direction,” said Greg Sterling, founding principal of research firm Sterling Market Intelligence.
“With Live Search on Sprint devices, Sprint customers now carry with them a GPS-enabled search tool providing open Internet search, local listing search and mobile content search, all in one easy service,” said Kevin Packingham, vice president of product management for Sprint.
“We look forward to working with Microsoft to continue developing innovative mobility solutions that bring together exceptional products and services from both companies for business and consumer subscribers.”
Sprint finds the whereabouts of its customers using mobile phone towers to narrow down the user’s location to within about 100 yards in densely populated areas. Sprint customers must first give permission before the feature is activated.
“The operators are trying more and more to leverage the features on their devices, and this is a feature to watch, given the growing popularity for navigation devices,” said Tuong Nguyen, a wireless analyst for research firm Gartner.
The services are not exclusive so they could become available via other operators in the future, said Phil Holden, director of mobile services at Microsoft.
While other similar services are available to mobile users, this location-based search offering is more apt to be used because it comes built into the phones, Holden said.
The new services also show how Internet companies are looking to grab a share of the advertising possibilities of mobile search, as well as wireless companies continuing to make inroads into the personal navigation market, now dominated by satellite-powered devices.
Internet heavyweights Google Inc, Yahoo Inc and Microsoft are racing to strike alliances with handset makers and carriers all around the world to provide a host of ad-supported services, including search.
Earlier this year Ask.com came out with an applications that phone users could download and use to combine search with location information. In August, Nuance Communications Inc. began offering a service for BlackBerry users that lets users search and get driving directions using voice commands.
Microsoft rival Google offers a mobile service that automatically combines maps searches with a user’s location. It is available for download on certain phones with location capabilities.
Sterling said the new search products from Sprint and Microsoft represent an accelerated improvement in terms of user experience, a key facet to building the necessary audience to drive advertisers to pay large sums for ads.
“The software giant hopes that it will be able to deliver more targeted advertising along with services like these that offer local search results.”
“The new services will be available on most Sprint phones and at no additional cost to Sprint data subscribers.”