Tellme Local Search with GPS & Live Serach for BlackBerry

Tellme, a Microsoft subsidiary, announced the addition of local 'on-the-go' information to its voice portal for mobile phones. Now instead of typing in a request or scrolling through menus to find information, people can simply hold down the 'talk' button, say a keyword and see the results on the phone's screen. Tellme is initially available on BlackBerry phones and will roll out on future versions of Helio phones.

"Tellme believes in the power of voice to transform how people use devices," said Mike McCue, founder and general manager of Tellme. "Tellme delivers an end-to-end experience. As opposed to Web-search services, Tellme focuses on specific tasks where the request leads to a specific answer -- like a movie show time, weather info or driving directions."

Mobile users surfing for information while on-the-go no longer need to type their location or starting point, Tellme uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to deliver local information right to the phone's screen. For example:

• Business Finder: Say the name of a business or business category, such as "coffee" or "hardware" and see the Live Search results with the business address, driving directions, an option to call the business or share the listing with a friend.
• Movies: Say the name of a movie theater and see theaters closest to you, movie show times, driving directions to the theater and the ability to buy tickets powered by Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination.
• Traffic: Say "traffic" and get a map with traffic conditions on major local routes, all using Live Search Virtual Earth.
• Weather: Say "weather" and see a five-day forecast for your local area or say a different city to see weather for any other U.S. city.
• Maps: Say "map" and, using GPS and Live Search Maps, see a map of the local area or say a new city and the map is automatically updated.
• Driving Directions: Say "driving directions" and speak or type a destination to see step-by-step directions from your current starting location.

Building on its leadership in voice services, history with 411 business search and 1-800-555-TELL voice access to content, Tellme provides the information people want when they are on-the-go. In the year ahead, the types of things people can use Tellme's service for will expand to include more mobile content and communication services.