Still dial 411? Google’s free directory assistance option is shutting down

Google is shutting down its voice recognition directory assistance service, GOOG-411, come November after using the service to firm up its voice recognition technology for future projects.

The search giant didn’t get into specifics as to what the tech would be applied to, but it list a few general areas: voice search, voice input and voice actions on smartphones running Google’s Android operating system.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Google’s making a move into voice recognition technology — Google CEO Eric Schmidt has made it abundantly clear that Google’s future plans would involve mobile devices that simply “got things done.” That including asking a smartphone a question and getting an answer, he said at the San Francisco TechCrunch Disrupt conference last month.

Google has offered the free directory assistance service, that  allows callers to say business names and locations and be connected to them, since 2007. The service was fully automated, and Google said the technology formed the foundation for its voice recognition technology.

It could be a sign of a voice recognition war brewing in the near future, as Apple has also recently begun shoring up its voice recognition technology. The iPhone manufacturer picked up Siri in April to improve its voice recognition technology.

[Photo: Robert Scoble]

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