Bing search gets vocal on new Samsung mobile phone

(AFP) -

Bing is getting vocal on a new Samsung mobile phone that lets people command Microsoft's Internet search engine by talking.

A "Tellme" feature built into Intrepid mobile phones introduced by the South Korean electronics giant can also convert spoken words into text messages.

"Have you ever really stopped to think about how many steps it takes to get anything done on your phone?" Microsoft Mobile senior director Dariusz Paczuski asked in Bing blog post on Tuesday.

Paczuski maintained that using a smart phone to search for a restaurant can take more than 20 taps of a keypad and that sending text messages can involve far more strokes.

"The number of steps it takes to complete your tasks may not be a real problem for when you are sitting at your desk or at home on the couch," Paczuski said.

"But what about those times when you are carrying that bag of groceries in one arm and you need to text your spouse that you need them to pick up the kids from soccer practice? Or walking up and down a busy Manhattan sidewalk?"

The Intrepid features a Tellme button that users press to activate a voice service that lets them tell the smartphone what they want.

"Users just press the voice button on their phone and talk," Paczuski said.

Google launched a voice search application for iPhones last year and has since made the feature available on Blackberry and Android-based smart phones.