Mandarin Search App

I have a confession to make: I don't have a cell phone. So I don't know much about them besides texting and games. And up until today, I had just a vague idea that you can use a cell phone to browse the Internet.

So I was surprised to see that Google has a new cell phone app that allows you to search the Internet using voice input. Wow! This stuff is more advanced than I ever dreamed.

I don't consider myself a technophobe, being quite computer literate, but cell phones don't interest me at all. But I know that they are considered essential in some corners, so it's my duty to inform Mandarin students about the latest gadgets that can be used to learn the language.

This Google app recognizes English (in various accents) or Mandarin Chinese. According to the Google Research blog, "Mandarin Voice Search (is) a part of Google Mobile App for Nokia s60 phones. Google Mobile App places a Google search widget on your Nokia phone's home screen, allowing you to quickly search by voice or by typing."

Google plans to extend this technology to allow searches "in any language."