The new voice-activated Google Mobile app for the iPhone is finally released. Whatever the reason for the delay, it was worth the wait. The search app knows when you bring the phone to your face to speak into it. It beeps, you talk, and it executes a Google search on what you said. (If you’re using a headset, you have to press a button. You can type in your queries, too, if you want.)

It’s not perfect, but it’s extremely good. Good enough to be used frequently,You can search for names of people you know, businesses nearby, airline information, and other miscellaneous data. It uses the phone’s location data to narrow down results. Try searching for "sushi" and you’ll get your closest sushi restaurants at the top of your search results.

The iPhone user asks a question, such as "Where’s the closest Burger King?" or "How wide is the Grand Canyon?" The user’s voice is converted to a digital file and transmitted to Google’s servers. Google Search then serves up the results — in a matter of seconds if the user has a fast wireless network, the Times reports. The search results always include any local information.

"The question with these types of technologies is how good is the speech recognition? It’s getting much better, and that’s why Google feels this is the right time to introduce this," Sterling said. "Google has confidence now that voice recognition is good enough to open it up to the full Web search as opposed to the much more structured search on GOOG411."

Google is playing catch-up, in a sense. Yahoo and Microsoft already offer a voice-recognition option for mobile phones. Microsoft’s Tellme service offers users information in specific categories, such as movies, maps or directions. Yahoo offers voice services through its oneSearch platform.

"In one sense this is new, but it’s not new, because Yahoo and Microsoft have been doing versions of voice recognition — and so has Google — for some time," Sterling said. "A company called Dial Directions was the first to formally introduce voice search for the iPhone, but it was limited to selected local sites through the Safari browser."

The market is heating up — and going global. Voice-recognition software maker Nuance Communications earlier this month acquired Austria-based Philips Speech Recognition Systems. Philips develops speech-recognition solutions in 25 languages.

Voice recognition on the mobile phone is still not completely accurate, and may not see mainstream use until it improves. But Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.said it is ever-improving and thinks Google’s voice search will be a popular mobile-phone feature. Specifically, he sees the new Google application for the iPhone as most useful when a user might need to call directory assistance or do a simple search, but can’t do it safely on a keyboard while driving. Another benefit is the ability to enter potentially long search queries that would be difficult to type. But accuracy is still a factor.

"This is an evolutionary step in the whole realm of voice search," Sterling said. "So far it has not proven to be the killer app for mobile, but it’s getting there and it’s very useful in selective situations."

Yahoo crafted voice recognition into its oneSearch mobile Internet service this year to let users perform "wide open" searches by speaking questions. Microsoft added voice to its Live Search mobile service last year.

"Voice search can be particularly effective on connected devices, since it can take advantage of network-based speech technology and data resources," organizers of a Voice Search Conference in California say on their website.

"One can simply say what one wants, much like talking to a personal assistant, and have any ambiguity resolved by a quick dialogue or a display of alternative results."

Google is leaving a door open to crafting voice search into Internet-linked phones built with an open-source Android software platform that the California-based firm has championed.

To get the app,visit the iTunes Application Store and search for "Google Mobile App."

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Tags: Google Mobile, iphone, iTunes, microsoft, oneSearch, Voice-Search, yahoo