Microsoft has launched its latest Google killer attempt – Bing. They have dubbed Bing as a decision engine rather than a search engine, to try and differentiate themselves from their more popular competitor. Some of the features of Live Search are carried over to this new site which includes the images in the homepage with deep links, hotspots, xRank, and Instant Answers. It also carried over some features of the image, video, and local searches.
This new name is certainly a step up from "Live" but still Bing? Really? I am not a fan I preferred the rumoured name "kumo" but anyway as long as they start doing a better job of branding than in the past.
Some of Bing’s features are really cool. Here’s what you can get from Bing:
Image search endless scrolling – if you need to search for graphics and photos, all you have to do is to utilize this infinite scrolling feature. There is no need to click or to maneuver to another page. Through this feature, more images are loaded as you scroll. You can also make use of the filtering options available which includes color, style, layout, and size.
ClearFlow – if you visit the site and you’re having problems due to heavy traffic, you can use this mapping feature to find alternative routes.
Video search preview – this is an excellent feature that allows users to mouse over the video results; aside from that, you can also preview the video results directly for thirty seconds. With this feature, you can avoid making unnecessary clicks since you can instantly see what’s in the search result.
Instant Answers – Microsoft has definitely done a good job once more through this feature. You can get instant answers on travel, shopping, and sports scores. If you want to book a flight, you can get the answer instantly by typing the airline and the flight number on the search box.
Local search – this is a comprehensive feature. If you’re conducting general searches, try to check the right-sidebar map. When you click on any of the results, you will instantly get directions, business categories, and reviews on the map. For instance, you’re looking for an eatery or restaurant. On the map, you will see scorecards of summarized reviews on the restaurant.
Web Groups – the results in categories like automobiles, people, travel, sports, health, entertainment, retail, and events will be affected by this feature; under such categories, you can get more detailed results.
Bing Health – more contents will be included in the results. If you’re looking for articles, you can get very useful info from the top reputable medical sources.
Best Match – this feature instantly shows you the most important info you need together with deep links.
Explore Pane – in Live Search, this feature can be seen on the right-hand side but in Bing, it is located on the left-hand sidebar. Recommended searches are served on this pane together with the quick tabs and history relevant to the search.
To be honest all I can think about when i hear bing is the 1990's sitcom character from "Friends" Chandler Bing, played by matthew perry.
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