Microsoft is teaming up two of its big divisions, the Bing search service and the Windows Phone 7 operating system, to create a new app for the OS called, "We"re In." As described on Microsoft"s Bing blog site, the app will allow its users to organize groups of friends and invite them to come to a specific location. According to the blog, "It"s simple, invite your friends, and when they join, they"ll see your location and you"ll see theirs. When the invite expires, so does the shared location – no complicated process to worry about." While the app is just for Windows Phone 7 users, the Bing team is working to bring the same app to other devices.
The app works by signing in using your Windows Phone 7 phone number and then adding in all of your phone"s contacts. When you want to invite them to a specific location, you add in the contacts that you want to bring in to your event. The friends are notified of your invite via a text message. If they own a Windows Phone 7 based smartphone, they can use their own "We"re In" app to join your invite. People who don"t own a Windows Phone 7 device can still join by clicking on the text message and joining via a link to a mobile web site. The app even shows where your friends are in relation to you and the location of the event you invited them to attend. Users can also update their status that can be seen by the other people invited to the event.