14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, Microsoft announced plans to move various development tools to its Windows Azure Marketplace, including the Bing Search API, now available for download through the store.
In line with the new service structure, the API can be accessed for free on the Marketplace by all developers with up to 5,000 queries per month.
This means that most of the company’s existing developers, such as non-profits, educational institutions, and smaller scale applications, will continue to benefit from free access to the service.
However, developers with more than 5,000 queries per month will have to purchase a subscription on the Windows Azure Marketplace. Microsoft also came up with a lower cost offering for those who use only web results.
“Starting today, you can sign up in the Marketplace to access web, image, news, and video search results, as well as related searches and spelling suggestions using JSON or XML,” the Bing Developer Team notes in a blog post.
The Windows Azure Marketplace is meant to be a one stop shop for cloud data, apps, and services, providing developers with the possibility to access hundreds of datasets or distribute applications.
Additionally, Microsoft notes that, in transitioning, the Bing Search API will provide increasingly relevant and updated results.
“In addition, we encourage you to review the updated terms of use, which now allow greater flexibility to re-order and blend results so that you have greater control over how Bing data is integrated into services and applications,” the aforementioned blog post reads.
At the moment, any subscription tier is available as a free limited time trial. Devs who need more queries than those listed in the portal can submit a request to onboard through a separate process.
“We encourage existing developers to begin transitioning to the Windows Azure Marketplace before Bing Search API 2.0 AppIDs are decommissioned on August 1, 2012,” Microsoft notes.
“On and after this date, AppIDs will no longer return results. Developers can continue using the API by signing up for the Windows Azure Marketplace or by submitting a request if greater query volume is needed.”
Devs interested in transitioning applications to the Windows Azure Marketplace will have to sign up for the portal, get through the migration guide, and subscribe to the Bing Search API and create an application key.
“In an effort to prioritize our more frequently used services, the Phonebook SourceType and the RSS endpoint will no longer be available through the Bing Search API beginning August 1, 2012. Translation capabilities will continue to be offered through Microsoft Translator instead of through the Bing Search API,” Microsoft continues.