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Tag: Bing Mobile

  • Microsoft Names Principal Architect Of Bing Mobile

    A man who fostered a great reputation in the geospatial community by founding OpenStreetMap, "a free editable map of the whole world," has started working for Microsoft.  The company announced today that Steve Coast will assume the impressive title "Principal Architect of Bing Mobile."

    We should note right here: this development doesn’t mean Coast is turning his back on OpenStreetMap or the geo community in general.  As part of the deal, Coast apparently made sure that Microsoft will be allowing access to its global orthorectified aerial imagery.

    Also, a post on the Bing Maps Blog explained, "As a Principal Architect for Bing Mobile, Steve will help develop better mapping experiences for our customers and partners, and lead efforts to engage with OpenStreetMap and other open source and open data projects."

    open maps images

    So it looks like this move is going to benefit Bing, Bing’s users, and people who prefer to steer clear of legal and technical restrictions when it comes to mapping.  Along with Coast himself, presumably.

    Coast wrote on his blog today, "[I’m] super excited to tell you that I’ve accepted a position as Principal Architect at Bing Mobile and am moving to the Seattle, Washington area to work on maptastic things!  Yay!"

  • Bing App Comes to Verizon Android Devices

    Microsoft has announced the launch of its first Bing for Mobile Android app for Verizon customers. The app is available for download in the Android Marketplace on Verizon Android devices.

    The app homepage will look somewhat familiar to Bing users, as it will include the Bing image of the day with the clickable hotspots, much like the desktop version. You can swipe through past images.

    The endless scrolling of the image search also makes the transition to the app. In fact, endless scrolling is functional with any search result.

    Bing for Mobile Comes to Android on Verizon

    The app also supports voice search, which Android users are already familiar with through Google’s offerings.

    "Voice search is also great when it comes to your local business listings," says Bing’s Andy Chu. "Give it a try, even something complex, hold the phone to your ear and speak, or press the mic button—it’s that simple."

    "The Android app also has a pretty smooth mapping feature," adds Chu. "First, Bing will automatically find your current location. You can then easily discover new places by category such as restaurants, banks, theaters and you can choose whether you want walking or driving directions. Swipe through each step of your directions, and check out how fast the map pans and zooms.  For times when you only have one hand free and can’t pinch, there is the handy zoom-out button."

    Other features of the app include local listing reviews, ratings, and news.