At the start of 2009, Jeremy Beasley, product manager, Live Search mobile, revealed that Microsoft had updated Live Search Mobile for Windows Mobile. At that time, Beasley offered only a superficial perspective over just how the update managed to enhance end-user experience, but Chris Pendleton, Virtual Earth tech evangelist, resolved this aspect by making available additional information.

“The Live Search team has published a significant update to their Live Search Mobile client application, which leverages Microsoft Virtual Earth quite heavily. The new release has some exciting features, including Walking Directions, Collection import and Bird’s Eye photography! Location is so critical for mobile applications and Virtual Earth being a core piece of our mobile product only further justifies that it should be a core piece of yours,” Pendleton stated.

Following the introduction of the refresh, users will be able to enjoy a range of improved options including: Local Search (in US, UK, France, Italy); Movie Showtime (US); Share Locale with SMS (US); Gas Price (US); Locate Me (US, UK); Bird's Eye View (US); Voice Input (US), and Query Projection (US). With the update focused on the US, Microsoft has simply enhanced the way people can use search via a mobile phone.

According to Microsoft, users will be able to “find local businesses, restaurants, and shops that are nearby. Find opening movies and showtimes in your area. Send place of interest (business, restaurant, movie theater) with address to friend via SMS. View nearby gas stations to find the cheapest gas. Location detection helps you automatically find your location even if you're not on a GPS-enabled phone. Quickly enter text by using voice input rather than dealing with your mobile keypad. And save time from typing full queries with predictive query suggestions,” Pendleton added.