Yahoo! has unveiled Yahoo! oneSearch 2.0, a new version of its mobile search service, and previewed plans to open up mobile search results to publishers and developers across the Internet. The announcement was made by Marco Boerries, Executive Vice President of Yahoo! Connected Life, in a keynote speech at CTIA.
By enabling publishers to integrate relevant content into the Yahoo! oneSearch results, the company says, it is more likely that consumers will be able to find exactly what theyre looking for. Opening up Yahoo! oneSearch will turn web search results into answers as the usefulness of the results will increase as more actual content is returned, as opposed to traditional web links. It will also unlock the power of the semantic web, as the results integrate more helpful content. Finally, it will provide more relevant content, by providing richer information.
As an example, Yahoo! says that whereas todays search results for Italian restaurants include information such as addresses and phone numbers, open results could also include information from restaurant booking companies displaying the number of available reservations.Yahoo! says that Open search results are expected to debut with initial partners in Q2 2008.
Another new feature of oneSearch 2.0 is Search Assist. Yahoo! says that this will offer faster and easier input, reducing the time it takes to enter in your search query. This will be achieved through predictive text completion. As the user begins to type, Search Assist will surface the most common search queries in real time that match the letters submitted so far. As soon as the user sees a query that matches what they were typing, they can select it and the results are returned. For instance, a consumer searching for information about Hillary Clinton can just type hil and search assist will instantly suggest Hillary Clinton along with Perez Hilton, Hillary Duff and the other most common search terms containing those letters.
Search Assist will also offer contextual recommendations. For example, as the user types in Apple, Search Assist may recommend links such as Apple iPhone, Apple iPod, or Apple stock price. At launch, Search Assist is available for the iPhone. Yahoo! says the facility is expected to become available on additional AJAX-compatible devices over the coming months.
Additionally, Yahoo! is partnering with speech-recognition company vlingo to deliver a voice-enabled version of Yahoo! oneSearch, in which the search query is spoken, rather than typed. Yahoo! notes that whereas most mobile voice recognition systems are specific to vertical categories such as local listings, Yahoo! oneSearch with Voice lets consumers perform wide open searches, returning relevant results for practically every kind of query. The system will adapt to each users voice the more they use it. It will also allow multi-modal input, enabling the user to switch between speaking and typing at any time.
Yahoo! oneSearch with Voice is available now for select Blackberry devices, including the 8800 series, Curve, and Pearl, in the US. It can be downloaded from the handset at http://m.yahoo.com/voice. Yahoo! says the solution is expected to support additional devices and become available internationally during the coming months.
Finally, Yahoo! has also announced plans for an idle screen search service that makes it easier to search on your phone by integrating the search box into the main screen. The idle screen will give users one-click access to Yahoo! oneSearch and the Internet, without the need to open the phones browser. This idle screen solution is expected to roll out in Q2 2008. 
