MSFT and RIM, Searching Nicely Together

MSFT and RIM announced a strategic partnership today to use Live Search on RIM blackberry devices.  Interesting that AT&T signed with Yahoo last week for mobile search.

https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a99FIfUGfQ6U

Search technologies seem to be heading in the area where they may change the way that UIs are considered.  I know that one of my favorite features on my Windows Mobile Smartphone is the smart contact search/find as I start typing the contact’s name (and, yes, I know that other software packages also provide this). 

What other areas of a phone UI can benefit from this type of search-ahead, or other search-enabled advance?  I think there will be many. 

As good as MSFT and Google are getting with their “Local” types of technologies, i.e. finding local businesses, I really think that could be improved.  I do a number of “local” searches, and I wouldn’t have a problem with the phone saving that data and providing me better capabilities here.

I also use Pocket Microsoft, and other apps, and would like to see more lookahead in these areas, and search within documents/spreadsheets/RSS/e-books, etc.