Microsoft, Sprint Debut GPS-Aware Search

Microsoft and Sprint expanded their partnership on Tuesday, with the carrier debuting integrated GPS and search functionality using Live Search, as well as voice search through Tellme.

Sprint's local search as well as full Internet search through the carrier's mobile portal would now be powered by Microsoft. The local search would also be GPS-aware, allowing consumers to search around their location as detected by the Sprint's network.

The new functionality would be available immediately at no-cost to customers of Sprint's data plans, and would work with most phones.

On select phones, the consumer would be able to speak their search commands, which Sprint says this would be the first time a carrier in the US had launched GPS-enabled search capabilities. In order to use that feature, users would need to download a separate application.

Microsoft and Sprint first partnered in November of last year and launched Windows Live Search across the Sprint mobile web, and it was said that plans were in the works at the time to integrate GPS functionality.

New data features will likely go over well with Sprint users. The company said that on average, their customers spent an extra $9.75 per month on data during the second quarter of the year.

Microsoft's Connected Services Framework, which the company debuted in February 2005, is said to be power much of the functionality that Sprint and Microsoft have debuted.

The Connected Services Framework provides a group of middleware services on the web level for supporting and translating between particular communications devices. Microsoft says that this relationship speeds to market new services, and allows companies to do so at a lesser cost.

5 Responses to Microsoft, Sprint Debut GPS-Aware Search

© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.