14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Microsoft has announced the debut of the new MSN portal, and together with it, the company has also made a major change to Bing apps that are available on its Windows Phone platform.
All Bing apps currently available on Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1 have been renamed to MSN, while the Bing Finance program has changed its name to MSN Money.
While Microsoft hasn’t provided any reasons for this change of strategy, it’s pretty clear that it wants MSN to become a stand-alone brand, while Bing would continue to evolve in a full-featured platform at the core of several key features, including Cortana and the Windows 8.1 Smart Search.
The new apps can now be found in the store and will come with exactly the same features as before, but further updates are very likely to be introduced in the coming months.
“Premium experience for content”
Microsoft says that this new name reflects the company’s focus on the content provided to users, but indirectly, it’s also a way to distance its apps from Bing, which is also playing a key role for the company, but going in a different direction.
“In Windows 8, we introduced Bing Apps to help you explore your world with a set of immersive vertical experiences. With today’s release, we now have one unified, consistent Azure-powered experience that spans the apps on your Windows 8.1 device to MSN in the cloud,” Microsoft said today.
“While Bing will continue to provide search and intelligent experiences, now the apps will be branded to reflect their alignment with MSN as a premium experience for content, combined with personal productivity features. Aside from Bing Finance, which will now be MSN Money, all of the apps retain their existing names.”
App updates also coming
The Health & Fitness and Weather apps are the first to receive improvements after being rebranded as MSN, so starting today, more information will be provided right on the lock screen of your phone.
“Now at a glance, you will see up-to-the-minute weather statuses from the Weather app. If you’re running the Nokia 1520, 630 or 635, you can keep track of steps taken via the pedometer and GPS tracker in the Health and Fitness App directly from the lock screen. No need to launch the individual apps,” the company added.
All the other apps are expected to receive improvements in the coming months, as Microsoft is working to provide a better experience with the new MSN solutions, but specifics are yet to be disclosed.