Microsoft has begun a public test of Recite, a new mobile phone application that records and searches for voice  recordings, the Redmond, Washington-based technology giant announced Monday in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress trade show. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer unveiled this and other new cellphone initiatives, including a new Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone operating system. Windows Mobile 6.5 Operating System Also Unveiled The test version of Recite, which Microsoft called "a search technology for your voice," was released Sunday and made available for download at a new section of the company's Web site at http://recite.microsoft.com. "Use your voice to easily store, search and retrieve the things you want to remember, where and when you need them," Microsoft wrote in a Sunday message announcing Recite on the company's developer blog. At the time of Recite's launch the application operated on certain smartphones using Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system 6.0 or newer versions, with available mobile devices including T-Mobile's Wing, Shadow and Dash phones, AT&T's PantechDuo and BlackJack II, the SMT 5800, HTC Diamond, Motorola's Q9C and Q9m phones, and Palm's Treo Pro and 800w devices. Microsoft said that the Recite software "analyzes the patterns in your speech and finds matches" in such spoken word notes as "friends’ birthdays, addresses, school happenings, gift ideas, get-togethers, favorite wines," or shopping lists. "Microsoft Recite’s voice search makes it easy to retrieve your stored thoughts and notes by using voice pattern matching," Microsoft noted in the Sunday blog announcement. "This is different from speech recognition, which has to accurately convert spoken words to application-readable input," Microsoft added. The new Recite test, which Microsoft dubbed a "free technology preview," was available in several languages, however Microsoft did not immediately release details of which languages were supported in the initial version. Microsoft Recite Hones Voice Searching Features At Mobile World Congress The technology used by Recite was able to offer more relevant voice searching results the longer the spoken word recordings get, Microsoft said. The Recite user interface displays large "Remember," "Listening," and "Finished" buttons and prompts to simplify the recording process, and shown in the SearchEngineWorld image above. Ballmer said that Microsoft had been working to merge the Web, computers and smartphones. "We're working with partners across the industry to deliver a new generation of Windows phones that break down the barriers between people, information and applications and provide great end-to-end experiences that span your entire life, at work and at home," Ballmer said Monday. "Windows phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC and the phone so you can connect instantly to the experiences you care about, no matter where you are," Ballmer added. Related Links:
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