Google has done it again; this time adding sophisticated voice recognition technology to an iPhone application. So far this technology only works with the iPhone, expect to see it for free in the App Store sometime very soon.

With this application users will virtually be able to ask their iPhone any question like, “Where is the nearest Starbucks?” or “How old is the oldest man in the world?” The application converts the audio to a digital file that is sent to Google’s servers, which try to determine which words were spoken and send them to Google search engine. With the use of the iPhone’s built-in GPS, Google can give local results.

Both Yahoo and Microsoft have offered similar voice services that just do not match up to what Google has to offer. Yahoo’s oneSearch service does not appear to be nearly as accurate as the service offered by Google. Microsoft’s Tellme service will only give results in specific categories such as directions, maps and movies. Google voice search however is far from perfect. “It’s important to understand that machine recognition will never be perfect,” Mr. Reddy added. “The question is, How close can they come to human performance?”

Google has declined to say how often the service is inaccurate, but they do believe that it is easily accurate enough to be useful to customers. If you want restaurant recommendations and driving directions this application can help you out. You can also look up contacts in your in you iPhone’s address book.

[Via NYT]