Microsoft has just announced a Bing Mobile app for Verizon branded Android devices. The app looks very similar to the iOS Bing app which the company released a few months ago, however fits more in with the Android design. The free Bing App is available in the Verizon Marketplace for VZW users to download. The app is said to have “instant answers, autosuggest, local and more”.
As you would expect the app features the Bing image of the day as the background, and it’s possible to swipe through a weeks worth of Bing's daily images. Microsoft says that all search results have endless scrolling.
The company also said that it is continuing to invest in voice search, and offers the ability for voice searching by pressing the mic button, or by holding the phone to your ear and speaking into the mic. Microsoft went on to say the voice search feature works especially well when looking for “instant answers”, which give you quick and relevant results for things like movies, stock quotes, directions, flight status and local listings.
The app also features a pretty smooth mapping feature, which automatically detects a users location to find and categorize local attractions near by. Users can pan and zoom around the map as well as be shown walking and driving directions. Microsoft went on to say that there are a lot of other features but want users to discover them for themselves.
Todd Bishop of TechFlash has been contacted by Microsoft and told that "there are plans to expand the Bing for Mobile Android App to devices with other U.S. mobile operators later this year. We don’t have specific timing to share at this time." It is also not known if there will be other Bing Mobile apps for other mobile platforms. It will be interesting to see what Google brings to the plate for Windows Phone 7; the company might be hard at work on a Google search app to compete with Bing’s integrated search features.
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