Yahoo! today revealed the updated version of its oneSearch mobile search application, version 2.0, which includes Search Assist, Voice-Enabled Search, Idle Screen Access and Open Search Results.  A combination of predictive query entry and speech-recognition provided by specialists vlingo, together with a broad range of search databases and an active program to facilitate publishers and developers in adding further information to the service, oneSearch is currently available for select Blackberry devices including the 8800 series, Curve, and Pearl in the US. 

“As you begin to type, Search Assist surfaces the most common search queries in real time that match the letters you have submitted so far. As soon as you see a query that matches what you were typing, select it and your 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” Yahoo! oneSearch 2.0 press release

However further handsets are expected to be supported in the coming months, and Yahoo! are planning an “idle screen” plugin that allows users to query oneSearch without needing to load up a browser; that’s scheduled for release in Q2 2008.  But it’s the voice recognition that’s most interesting; searches can be for flight numbers, locations, website names, local restaurants or more, and the system adapts to a user’s voice the more it is accessed.

Those with compatible handsets can download openSearch 2.0 from http://m.yahoo.com/voice