Bing adds voice search

Dialing a friend or composing a text message may get a little easier on the new Samsung Intrepid from Sprint, the first mobile phone to utilize Microsoft's Tellme voice command service and the Bing search engine. To activate the service, a phone user simply hits a button and speaks. For example, a user could say "coffee shop" to find local cafes or "Seattle weather" to get local forecasts.

You can get a sense of how the service works in the video below.

Of course, Google has been doing this for some time, though the Google Watch blog notes that the search giant's offering does not allow users to send text messages with their voice.

That could be a game changer, though Clint Boulton writes that people will need to buy the $150 Intrepid to see the Tellme service in action.

Microsoft Senior Director of Mobile Dariusz Paczuski writes in a blog post that the service could eliminate as many as 20 steps to send a text message.

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 writes. " 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? "

About Todd Bishop

Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.

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