14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone 7, Microsoft's latest mobile operating system release, is expected to receive some very appealing new features with a new flavor of Bing, some of the latest reports on the matter suggest. In the latest Windows Phone Dev Podcast, Travis and Ryan Lowdermilk announced some of these great new features for Bing in Windows Phone, including audio features similar to those of Shazam, as well as turn-by-turn voice directions for Maps, and more.
Moreover, there are some screenshots available to prove that work on this is already undergoing, and that these features won't make us wait too long.
The said Bing audio feature would work the same as the Shazam service, being integrated directly into the Bing search window.
The guys over at WMPoweruser explain in a recent post that the music search feature would work similarly with Shazam, enabling users record a snippet of a song they are listening to, so that they can search for a match.
If available, the result will be linked to the Marketplace, where users would be able to purchase the song. The feature will be launched in US, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Spain in the beginning.
One other new feature set to arrive to Windows Phone soon would involve making searches using the handset's photo snapper.
Unlike already available apps that do the same thing, the feature would be integrated with the platform, and would enable the scanning of barcodes, Microsoft Tags, QR Codes, and more. Moreover, it seems that it might also allow for the addition of more services into the mix.
Among the other new features to the mobile OS, we can count Native Podcast support, which was already expected to arrive on handsets, and which would involve downloading of podcasts as well.
Bing Maps should receive turn-by-turn directions, a welcome feature for many, though it remains to be seen whether this would indeed arrive on Windows Phones along with the next version of the platform.
Voice-recognition SMS messaging might also be added soon, so that users would be able to text even when they have their hands busy, such as when behind the wheel.
As stated above, the available screenshots seem set to prove that all these would soon become reality, but nothing has been officially announced for the time being, and it remains to be seen whether what was said in this Windows Phone Dev Podcast would pan out or not. Stay tuned for more on the matter.
