Bing: Travel Planner Beta for Outlook, Blackberry App Update and More

Last week, the team from Windows Live were busy getting out updates to Hotmail and integrating LinkedIn, and this week, Bing is launching several updates, to your Outlook, to your cell phone and to the search itself.

First news this week – Bing released a new tool that will make all trip planners very happy, as the Bing Travel Planner for Outlook will make their traveling plans much easier.

With a little help from Bing Travel and Outlook, you will know what to buy, when to buy, where to fly and also where you will stay, at the best prices and quality of service.

This is possible because Bing Travel processes an enormous amount of airfare and hotel rate data and so it can find the lowest fare, faster and easier.

You will no longer spend precious time searching for the best time to fly, the airline with the lowest price and a place to stay at your destination, because the Bing Travel add-in allows you now, to have all this information available anytime in Outlook.

All you have to do is click the Bing Travel button in the Add-Ins menu, or right-click in your calendar, and you will access Bing Travel’s decision making tools as well as your favorite online travel agencies and airline companies.

This add-in is currently in beta, available to all Outlook 2007 and 2010 users and you can download the Bing Travel Planner beta for Outlook (v1.0.0.60) here.

Besides the easy traveling tools, Bing has also launched updates for Mobile Blackberry App which include pressing the Bing Maps icon from your Blackberry device and having instant access access to Bing Maps, and an updated home screen with a launcher so you can access local, maps, directions and news faster.

Before you go to m.bing.com and download the Bing Mobile App for your Blackberry, check that you have one of the following Blackberry devices:

* BlackBerry Curve 8500
* BlackBerry Curve 2 8520/8530
* BlackBerry Bold 9000
* BlackBerry Tour 9600
* BlackBerry Bold 9650 (Essex)
* BlackBerry Bold 9700 (Bold2)
* BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8200
* BlackBerry Storm 9530
* BlackBerry Storm 9550 (Storm2)

Finally if you have downloaded the brand new Internet Explorer 9 beta, you can now use the updated version of Bing, that supports Pinned Sites and Jump Lists, according to LiveSide.

So, either you plan to travel somewhere, to buy a new phone or you are simply excited about downloading IE 9 beta, you should check out these updates.