Tellme offers free, voice-enabled search

Tellme, a Mountain View, Calif. voice recognition company, has launched a notable mobile voice search feature.

On a Java-enabled phone, you hit the “talk” button, and say the name of city and state you are searching in. Then you say the name of the business (or ‘restaurants’ or ‘pizza’), and Tellme will return results on your phone, along with address, map and directions. It is free (though data charges apply according to your wireless plan).

You can do this by talking or typing. It covers the U.S., but it is a limited testing mode — meaning you have to sign up for it.

In Oct., Tellme signed a deal to offer 411 voice service via Cingular. Earlier last year, it said it was handling more than two billion directory calls a year, 74 percent of which are done without human intervention.