Voice-Enabled Search Engines for Mobiles Possible Via Google Patent

But patent applications shouldn’t be confused with product announcements, a spokesman for Google said. “Like many companies, we file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees may come up with,” the spokesman said: “Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t.”

Google’s patented technology could return search results for even just a few words, unlike existing voice services, according to the patent application filed in Feb. 2001. The key is Google’s algorithm that uses weighted reconstructions of user queries. The mobile search would allow users to conduct Web and image searches, along with local searches using ZIP codes, and obtain word definitions.

Customers and investors have been waiting for a service like this to hit the market, said telecom analyst Jeff Kagan. But progress will be cautious and Google stock isn’t likely to rise because of this announcement, Kagan said. Google stock was down $7.27 or about 1.8% to $401.66 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. “It is still very early,” Kagan said: “We are miles ahead from the 1990s and this is a big step in the right direction, but it is still just a baby’s stroll. We have a lot more growth to go.”

A voice-search engine will soon be a reality because the potential market for directory services is so lucrative, said Dan Miller, an analyst with Opus Research. Directory assistance in N. America is a $6 billion industry, he said. Google has a proven formula for attracting advertisers in paid search models, he said. “If Google’s models are taken in local or mobile contexts they have the potential to capture as much as a third of that market,” he said.

As the technology improves, there will be a crescendo of voice-enabled mobile service providers, Miller said. Nuance Communications, a speech and imaging technology company, has, with others, already created voice-activated devices such as TV remotes and voice-enabled product ordering services. Google might examine a partnership with such companies, Miller predicted.

Last Sept. Nuance sued Yahoo for alleged unfair competition and stealing trade secrets after Yahoo hired 13 of its engineers. The case has since been settled. Miller said more property issues could crop up for Google and other companies. But, Miller said, the results will have little importance to customers. “We are right at the point that there are valid demonstrations that this stuff works, Miller said: “At that point who owns the rights is trivial to people who would be using” the products.

One danger, Miller said, is that these applications could be created without involvement from wireless carriers. “The first implication is that this will be more of a threat to core wireless business than an opportunity - but this is a paranoid view,” Miller said: “Speech recognition services are merging and perhaps this will be the preferred way of communication so wireless providers need to jump on board.”

For voice-activated services to work, faster wireless connection speeds must be obtained because the slower the speed, the easier it is for the user to loose the connection, said Donna Jaegers, an analyst with Janco Research. Early adopters of the voice services will be business people because the high-speed services available now through Verizon, Sprint and Cingular cost upward of $60 a month, Jaegers said. “This will start out as small market, but as people get more used to accessing the Internet through their mobiles it could continue to grow,” Jaegers said. - Megan Downs