14 DAY TRIAL // There’s nothing holding Microsoft back from attempting to build market share while piggyback riding on products developers by rival companies. It is the case of its search/decision engine, which the Redmond company is now making available to Apple iPhone users. As of December 15th, users of the mobile phone offered by Apple can grab the Bing for Mobile application the App Store. Not only this, but the new Bing for Mobile app aimed at Apple customers can also be installed on the iPod Touch, the software giant explained. All iPhone and iPod Touch owners can download the Bing for Mobile app completely free of charge.
“Let’s talk about some cool stuff you can do with the Bing App. Our investments in voice search (you may have played with them on Windows phones or BlackBerry already) continues in our iPhone App and works great for map locations as well as old fashioned web search. Just say “San Francisco weather,” for a quick result, or even say a full address for a map or directions. Try something complex, like “1 Microsoft Way, Redmond 98052.” (Yes, I know how to get to work.) Hold the phone to your ear and speak, or press the mic button—simple,” revealed Justin Jed – Bing for mobile.
Jed underlines that taking Bing to the iPhone and iPod Touch is a natural step in the evolution of the company’s mobile flavor of the search/decision engine. The official Bing App for iPhone and iPod Touch, developed by Microsoft, can also be downloaded via iTunes, on top of the App Store, but also by visiting m.bing.com, a move which will redirect users to the app store.
“Looking for a coffee shop nearby? Bing automatically finds your location. It’s also easy to discover a new spot by category such as restaurants, banks, theaters and choose whether you want walking or driving directions,” Jed added. “We’ve got smooth mapping action. Swipe through each step of the directions, and check out how fast the map pans and zooms. (Techies take note: we use Seadragon technology for some of this.) For times when you only have one hand free and can’t pinch, there is a handy zoom-out button.”
Users already familiar with the fully-fledged version of Bing will be able to notice that Microsoft has labored in order to preserve the user experience while porting the app to iPhone and iPod Touch. In this regard, the Bing for Mobile app’s home screen will feature the Bing image of the day. Not only this, but users will be able to access additional information via the hotspots embedded in the background.
“There are a bunch of other features we’d love to tell you about, like movies, news and flight status. But rather than drone on about them, just download the app and give it a spin,” Jed said.
