Microsoft may finally be getting the message that it's going to take something special to make the Bing search engine stand out. Their latest strategy is designed to appeal to those who use their mobile devices as a lifeline for searching, socializing, and entertainment.
If you use an iPhone, you might or might not be aware that Bing offers a version of its search engine specifically for mobile devices, namely Bing for Mobile. And if you're fond of Google, you may not see any particular reason to use it. But Microsoft just gave it a new ability that might make you change your mind: auto app discovery.
The way it works is fairly simple: do a normal web search with Bing for Mobile, and it returns mobile applications. You don't need to know the name of the application, or even that an application exists that's relevant to your query. A search for “Thor 3D,” for example, can turn up an app for IMDb Movies & TV; a search for “Hotels in Seattle” shows the TripAssist by Expedia app. Each of these included a link in the search results to download the app for free. Apps that cost mention the price in the download link.
Naturally, you can also use Bing for Mobile to find an app by using the app's name or some other criteria. So “Download Fruit Ninja” would turn up that specific app, while “News Apps” would turn up applications from CNN and other news agencies.
Not only can Bing for Mobile help you find apps, it can launch some applications directly from the search results – if the app is already installed on your phone. As the company explains in a blog post, “If an App is not installed on your phone, when you click on the download link Bing takes you to download the app from the iTunes App Store. If the App is already installed and the developer has enabled the launch functionality, then it will launch automatically.” So far, more than 50 applications have that capability, including Yelp, Facebook, and IMDb.
Some of these apps take that automatic launch capability to the next level. For instance, if you've just searched for “Thor 3D” and have the IMDb app installed on your phone, clicking the download link on Bing's search result for the app doesn't just launch the app; it takes you directly to the app's results for “Thor 3D.” That saves you some valuable clicks, which is a worthwhile consideration when so many mobile interfaces make data entry a pain.
MSN Optimization 
