Blackberry users: Google Maps 4.0 brings search by voice, Buzz and more.

The Google Mobile blog has big news for Blackberry users who love their Google.  With the 4.0 release of Google Maps for the Blackberry, you can now search by voice, add a searched location into Buzz and play with all sorts of Google Labs features as well.

Previously, the Blackberry applications from Google have been…well…mediocre.  Google has raised the standard with new Maps 4.0, and Search by Voice is a welcome feature to those of us who need a map while driving.

More after the break.

According to the blog, now all Blackberry users will have to do is press and hold the green Call button while in Google Maps and they will be able to search Maps by speaking what they want to find.

I’ve found that Maps is generally very good at deciphering what I want, but bear in mind that all voice services are server-side, so there is a slight delay when using them.

Find something cool while you’re out?  Toss a link to it in your Google Buzz directly from Maps.  You can enable the Buzz layer to see results from other people who have used Buzz as well.

Of course, availability is somewhat limited still, with a good description from Google but I think that most of us will find the services are ready to go.

There are quite a few other functions as well, including Starring for favorite places and new toys from mobile Labs as well.  Check out the full Google blog post for all the details.