Google's new voice-recognition search tool for the iPhone has problems understanding Australian accents, leading to some bizarre answers to spoken queries. Similar problems have been reported in the U.K. with regional accents.
Users down under have noticed searches for the word "iPhone" can return pages of results for "priceline", "mustang" or simply a message saying "try again."
The number eight becomes a search for "ike", seven turns into "Clinton", and don't even try searching for the number six.
Google recommends the tool, which is available as a free download for the iPhone and iPod Touch in Apple's Application Store, works best with a North American accent.
It seems again a case that for anything outside of America, there be dragons. It is surprising that large "international" companies take this attitude. I recently complained of Goolge ignoring my browser language preferences.
Another great example is LinkedIn.com. Obviously if you want to do international business networking, you have to speak and write English. It seems all too hard for the Americans to comprehend that there is a world beyond their shores. Xing.com while developed by Germans, are very conscious of the need to speak multiple languages, hence the greater uptake and multi-lingual networking taking place there.
We may now live in the global village, but we do need to make an effort to reach out to each other and communicate in ways best understood by the people we engage with.
Tags: Google, iPhone, multi-lingual, search, Voice-recognition
Tags: Google, iPhone, multi-lingual, search, Voice-recognition
