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Last week, Microsoft subsidiary Tellme launched an upgraded version of its mobile search application that lets Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry users speak into their phones to search the Web for information, maps, driving directions and more via Redmond's Live Search services.
All the leading BlackBerry blogs and sites are covering the announcement like it's big news, and I'm still wondering why. I'm not a fan of mobile voice search to begin with, Yahoo oneSearch for BlackBerry is already available with much the same functionality-minus GPS integration-and Tellme 2.0 doesn't work on the vast majority of BlackBerry devices, though the company's apparently working to change that. (So far it's available on BlackBerry Pearl 8100, 8310 and the three 8800 series handhelds.)
Personally, I don't really use any voice-activated services on my BlackBerry because I feel like a dolt screaming into my phone in robotic monotone to ensure that it "understands" me over the road ruckus outside my vehicle. I see how the functionality could be valuable while you're driving or when your hands aren't available, but you still need to launch whatever app you want and activate the search with at least one click, right? As far as I know, there's no app that's completely voice-activated, and looking at your handheld screen to get started kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? (Microsoft's Sync technology comes to mind in thinking about truly-hands-free tech, but that's not a smartphone app, and so, it's a whole separate ball game.)
Here's another reason the fuss seems strange: Other existing BlackBerry search applications do practically everything Tellme's new offering does-and they work on nearly all BlackBerry devices. Yahoo OneSearch, which was released early this month, has voice search and provides similar results and location information, though it doesn't use GPS, so you need to include locations with your queries for local results.
My favorite BlackBerry search app is Beyond411, which works in much the same way as Tellme 2.0, and it too employs users' GPS information, where available, to provide local search results-it isn't however, voice-activated.
Google, who's notably absent from the whole mobile voice search game for the time being-you can bet your hat and homestead that won't be the case for much longer-also offers similar search functionality in Google Maps for mobile. Google Maps even has a non-GPS location based service called My Location that employs nearby cell towers to determine users' locations.
The most notable aspect of this announcement has largely been overlooked by blogs and other news outlets. Microsoft, which competes directly with RIM in both the consumer and enterprise mobile space with Windows Mobile and its Exchange Server, is releasing a new application for BlackBerry users before Windows Mobile users. This is not the first time Microsoft released an application for RIM smartphones. Last fall, the software giant released a Live Search app for BlackBerry, but yesterday's release is significant because the new version of Tellme is not yet available on the Windows Mobile platform.
Since Microsoft only owns a small slice of the total smartphone pie with Windows Mobile, it makes good business sense for it to broaden its horizons-and user base-by targeting new platforms with its applications. And Tellme still plans to release the apps for Windows Mobile, as well as the iPhone and other devices in the near future, according to the Associated Press.
Since my BlackBerry Curve 8320, a Pearl 8120 that RIM just sent me to check out, and my girlfriend's Pearl 8130 aren't yet supported--perhaps because they don't have GPS--I haven't had a chance to give Tellme 2.0 a test drive, but I'm in no rush anyway, for the reasons mentioned above.
2008 CIO Summit
19th August, 2008 Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney Developed in partnership with CIO Magazine, IDC, INTEP and the CIO Executive Council.
The world of the CIO is extremely complex and diverse. Multiple priorities demand attention and decisions are needed instantly. Individual teams need to be driven towards common goals, and businesses strive to become more mobile, agile and responsive. For CIOs, the challenge never ends.
Every year the CIO Summit identifies what is top of mind for CIOs across Australia and New Zealand, and offers insight for CIO benchmarking and vendor strategic planning alike.
Recent IDC research shows that over 59% of CIO's believe that 'to achieve their business strategies, technology should be used more aggressively than today.'
Join us on August 19th to discover how this is possible with the latest technologies including Virtualisation, Web 2.0, IP Surveillance and Software as a Service (Saas).
Click here for more information.
Please email Denyse_Robertson@idg.com.au for further information.
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CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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Information security governance: Centralized vs. distributed 05 September, 2008 10:15:00
Should security policies, procedures and processes be managed within a central body, or distributed at an individual level? You need to find the middle ground.The management of information risk has become a significant topic for all organizations, small and large alike. But for the large, multi-divisional organization, it poses the additional challenge of determining how to deploy an information security governance program among what are often disparate business units. Should the policies, procedures, and processes that define the program be developed and managed within a central, corporate body? Or perhaps responsibility would be better placed at the individual unit level? Is there a workable middle-ground? - +
DNS error brings Sophos antivirus updates to a halt 05 September, 2008 13:40:00
Optus, Internode and Equinix affected among others.A sporadic Domain Name Server (DNS) error has blocked Sophos anti-virus updates around the world. - +
Ouch! Security pros' worst mistakes 04 September, 2008 08:05:00
We've all done regrettable things on the job, but does any valuable wisdom come of it? Four security pros candidly explain their biggest blunders and what they learned in the processIt was a mistake so bad the person who made it asked that his name and company not be mentioned here. Let's call him Frank. - +
Security ROI: Fact or Fiction? 03 September, 2008 08:32:00
Bruce Schneier says ROI is a big deal in business, but it's a misnomer in security. Make sure your financial calculations are based on good data and sound methodologies.Return on investment, or ROI, is a big deal in business. Any business venture needs to demonstrate a positive return on investment, and a good one at that, in order to be viable. - +
Information Security and the Importance of Context 01 September, 2008 10:00:00
Those entrusted with information security must raise their contextual awarenessWhen the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was first created, it created a sudden need for tens of thousands of screeners. Getting a job as an airport screener was a pretty easy process. It seemed as though if you had a pulse, you were in. Jump forward to 2008 and becoming a screener is a bit harder as the TSA has instituted background checks, has upped the educational requirement to include a high school diploma or GED, and added other significant requirements.
Viva la Verticals! Key to Vendor Growth is Through Vertical Market Opportunities, Says IDC 05 September, 2008 11:05:00
F-Secure delivers fastest protection in the online world 04 September, 2008 16:50:00
Rogue security apps dominate Fortinet's Aug 2008 IT threat report 04 September, 2008 16:00:00
IntraPower Signs Deal with Australia’s Largest Service Station and Convenience Store Network 04 September, 2008 10:07:00
TANDBERG Begins Desktop Videoconferencing Roll-Out at New England Credit Union 03 September, 2008 16:01:00
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Using EMC Celerra IP Storage with Vmware Infrastructure 3 over iSCSI and NFS
Learn to tie virtualized computing to virtualized storage, to offer a dynamic set of capabilities within the data centre and create improved performance and system reliability. Discover how best to utilize EMC Celerra in a VMware ESX environment.
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