IVR

Taking a page out of the Internet’s search and ad leader, a Canadian company today reportedly launched street view and voice recognition features to go along with searches on its own site, covering the maple leaf nation.

 

Following similar news last week from Google Inc., officials at Vancouver-based Canpages say they’re introducing a “Street View” search feature and a voice recognition search application for the Apple iPhone.

 

According to Olivier Vincent, president and chief executive officer of Canpages, Street View will eliminate “buyer beware” concerns consumers may have when conducting local searches online, allowing the company to offer advertisers a chance to engage an audience “on a whole new level-at a fraction of the cost of most other small business marketing programs.”

 

“With the 2010 Olympics fast approaching, we made a strategic decision to capture panoramic street views of the host cities and business before we roll it out to the rest of Canada,” Vincent said.

 

Specifically, Street View provides panoramic street-level views of Vancouver so that users can see high-resolution visuals of search results in the context of the local environment. For example, users can take a virtual “walk” down city streets to a local restaurant or hotel to see what it looks like from the outside before they make reservation, or they can check whether there is street parking or a lot nearby.

 

Google (News - Alert) got into hot water recently for a similar feature.

 

As TMCnet reported, citing privacy concerns, a group of Japanese professors and lawyers called on Google to get rid of a service that gives users detailed street-level images via satellite.

 

According to Reuters (News - Alert) reporter Yoko Kubota, the group – calling itself the Campaign Against Surveillance Society – says that the “Street View” feature of Google Maps offering violates rights to privacy.

 

Kubota reports that the group’s leader – Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor of constitutional law at Sophia University in Tokyo – believes that Google’s giving Web users the ability virtually to drive down a street and look around, violates human rights.

 

“It is necessary to warn society that an IT giant is openly violating privacy rights, which are important rights that the citizens have, through this service,” Kubota said.

 

Officials at Canpages also say they’re launching Canada’s first voice recognition local directory search application for the iPhone (News - Alert). The application, which can be downloaded for free, enables users to speak their local search request into their iPhone and then see detailed results on their screen including access to maps, directions and Web site links.

 

That’s not an entirely new feature either – as companies such as Vlingo Corporation have offered those services for nearly a year – but it is uncanny that Canpages’ offering closely trails industry leader Google’s.

 

As TMCnet reported, Google last week announced that it’s launching a free speech recognition service that gives users one number for all their phones and then transcribes voice messages into text.

 

Officials say “Google Voice” – currently available for users of GrandCentral, a service the company acquired in July 2007 – will be open to new users soon.

 

According to three of Google’s voice product managers – Craig Walker, Vincent Paquet, and Wesley Chan – users will get transcripts of their voicemails and will be able to archive and search all of the SMS text messages you send and receive.

 

“As you may know, GrandCentral offers many great features, including a single number to ring your home, work, and mobile phones, a central voicemail inbox that you could access on the Web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voicemail,” the product managers said. “You’ll find these features, and more, in the Google Voice preview.”

 

Officials at Canpages say their offering leverages the iPhone’s GPS functionality to find listings closest in proximity to the user without having to input a location. With every business listing from across Canada accessible, the Canpages voice application provides an easy, hands-free way for mobile users to access local search information on-the-fly.

 

Vincent said he’s “extremely excited” about the product.

 

“We are committed to delivering the best local search experience to Canadians whether it is online, mobile or in print,” he said.