Google unveils mobile voice search in Chinese
Google unveils mobile voice search in Chinese
09:02, November 03, 2009 
Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 
US search engine Google Inc yesterday launched a Chinese-language voice search service, in an effort to lure users from domestic rival Baidu Inc in the world's largest mobile market.
The new service is expected to help Chinese users use Google's existing search services such as Web search and Google Maps via mobile phones.
Google said the Chinese version voice search is currently only available for Nokia's S60 series, which includes 46 models of handsets. But Vic Gundotra, Google's engineering vice-president, said at a press conference in Beijing last month that the service will soon be expanded to other platforms such as Apple Inc's iPhone and Android-based handsets.
"With the coming of the mobile Internet era, mobile phones are becoming as powerful as personal computers. But searching on a handset is extremely difficult due to the limits of mobile phones," said Lin Bin, deputy director of Google China Research Center, in a statement.
Last year, Google offered its English voice search service, including images and maps, for the Android, Nokia S60, BlackBerry and iPhone phones.
Lin said Google's goal was to make its mobile search business surpass the PC-based Internet search business.
As a distant second player in China's online search engine market, Google has been trying to catch up with domestic leader Baidu Inc during the past few years. Since this year, the company has been aggressively pushing its mobile search service in China, where the mobile phone population reached over 700 million.
According to figures from domestic research firm Analysys International, Google is still lagging market leader Baidu, which takes over 60 percent of the search market share. But in China's mobile search market, Google's share reached 26.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, higher than the 26 percent that Baidu clinched.
Last month, Chinese search engine Baidu announced that it clinched a partnership with China Unicom to provide wireless search for the carrier's 3G mobile subscribers. China Unicom on Friday launched the popular iPhone in China.
Experts said ever since China launched 3G services, which enable cell phone users to surf the Internet via mobile phones, mobile search has become one of the most promising markets for search engines to expand their service beyond personal computers.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China's Internet users totaled 338 million by the end of June, of which mobile Internet users increased 32.1 percent to 155 million.
Source:China Daily
The new service is expected to help Chinese users use Google's existing search services such as Web search and Google Maps via mobile phones.
Google said the Chinese version voice search is currently only available for Nokia's S60 series, which includes 46 models of handsets. But Vic Gundotra, Google's engineering vice-president, said at a press conference in Beijing last month that the service will soon be expanded to other platforms such as Apple Inc's iPhone and Android-based handsets.
"With the coming of the mobile Internet era, mobile phones are becoming as powerful as personal computers. But searching on a handset is extremely difficult due to the limits of mobile phones," said Lin Bin, deputy director of Google China Research Center, in a statement.
Last year, Google offered its English voice search service, including images and maps, for the Android, Nokia S60, BlackBerry and iPhone phones.
Lin said Google's goal was to make its mobile search business surpass the PC-based Internet search business.
As a distant second player in China's online search engine market, Google has been trying to catch up with domestic leader Baidu Inc during the past few years. Since this year, the company has been aggressively pushing its mobile search service in China, where the mobile phone population reached over 700 million.
According to figures from domestic research firm Analysys International, Google is still lagging market leader Baidu, which takes over 60 percent of the search market share. But in China's mobile search market, Google's share reached 26.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, higher than the 26 percent that Baidu clinched.
Last month, Chinese search engine Baidu announced that it clinched a partnership with China Unicom to provide wireless search for the carrier's 3G mobile subscribers. China Unicom on Friday launched the popular iPhone in China.
Experts said ever since China launched 3G services, which enable cell phone users to surf the Internet via mobile phones, mobile search has become one of the most promising markets for search engines to expand their service beyond personal computers.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China's Internet users totaled 338 million by the end of June, of which mobile Internet users increased 32.1 percent to 155 million.
Source:China Daily
Related Reading
Special Coverage
60th anniversary of founding of PRC
Major headlines
Editor's Pick
Most Popular
Hot Forum Dicussion
