Google says it believes voice searches will be a core part of its potential success in the market for searching on mobile devices. The firm says its voice recognition has improved by 15 percent, though a high-profile review of its other voice technology suggests there’s still some way to go.

The Google comments came in an interview with the BBC Web site where executive Vic Gundotra said, “We believe voice search is a new form of search and that it is core to our business.”

According to Gundotra, the more times the technology is used, the better the voice recognition becomes because the firm can learn from mistakes. He says those improvements have now hit a “tipping point” and that the system’s accuracy is improved 15 percent since the firm launched a voice search application for the iPhone.

These improvements have, if Google is to be believed, taken care of some early problems where the service struggled to cope with accents from English speakers outside of North America.

Unfortunately for Google, an article published today in the Wall Street Journal challenges its assertions about voice technology. Though writer Courtney Banks is reviewing a separate service – the recently launched Google Voice which transcribes voicemail messages into searchable text – her comments on the voice recognition will still sting.

She reports that across messages she’s received so far, only around 75 percent of words are transcribed correctly and that the service has particular trouble with names. According to Banks, the service is like having a “dutiful but klutzy secretary.”

Google’s comments do suggest the firm is going full speed ahead with voice search, despite the row over its initial launch on the iPhone. The service is activated by a sensor in the touchscreen which is triggered when the user puts the phone by the ear. (The sensor’s main use is to stop users accidentally brushing the touchscreen with their cheek while making a call.)

However, the rules of the iPhone app store block developers from using this sensor in their applications. It’s still a mystery how Google was allowed to break the rules in this way.

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Entry was posted on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 10:22 am under Apple, Cell phones, Google.

Read more entries by John Lister.
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