New voice-enabled Google Maps can detect 'Indian' English

BANGALORE, INDIA: Those of us who have become tired of typing addresses and search terms into Google Maps for Mobile can now 'speak' to the tool. now have a reprieve. Version 4.1 of the smartphone maps app brings voice search to Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile phones, a huge convenience feature that's already made life easy and hands-free in many Android and BlackBerry handsets.

Besides submitting to the usual voice queries, the new version of Google Maps for Mobile has added a language choices functionality to the settings page. As a user, you can now talk in your natural accent and hope Google Maps will understand where you need to go. If you are a developer in the linguistic and speech recognition space, you can possibly develop capabilities on specific accents and dialects, though Google claims that it has already put American, British, Indian, Australian, & New Zealand English in place.