Today, we took the wraps off of Windows Phone 8 designed from the ground up to keep you closer to what matters most. You can read more about the release here.
We wanted to highlight a few of our favorite features (some you’re probably familiar with and some are new or improved) that showcase how Bing helps you search less and do more, while you’re on the go.
An experience that’s personal to you: New to Windows Phone 8, For You offers personalized recommendations for deals, restaurants, music, videos and more, based on a person’s location, previous searches and recommendations from their Facebook friends.
Local Scout: Local Scout, one of the top features on Windows Phone provides recommendations for nearby restaurants, shopping and other activities in an easy-to-use guide, powered by Bing. Whether you’re looking for the best brunch or live music in your area, it’s all a tap away. Simply pick a result and you’ll see everything you need to know – where it’s located, how to get there, who to call, when it’s open, the website, and even ratings and reviews. Local Scout includes eat+drink, see+do, shop, local deals and the new for you experience.
Bing Explore: New to Windows Phone 8, you can now easily swipe the Bing home page across to see content relevant to you, including trending stories, local deals and more.
Take the Bing Homepage with you: Now you can take the iconic Bing Homepage with you. The lock screen image on Windows Phone 8 automatically retrieves the image of the day so you have something fresh, beautiful and dynamic to look forward to at the start of everyday.
Bing Audio: With a larger music catalogue, Bing Audio on Windows Phone 8 makes it easier for people to find out what song is playing by letting their phone “listen” to the music. It not only shows the name, artist, and album, but even shows where to hear or buy it.
App Connect and Store Search: Ever wonder which app does what? Bing has you covered. Bing search results now return Windows Phone Store apps that are relevant to what you’re searching. For example, when you search for movie times, Bing will show you several of the top movie apps. Bing also powers search for both apps and games in the Store. This system has also been rolled out to Windows Phone 7.x devices.
Bing Vision: You can use your phone’s camera to look up product information by bringing an object into view. Bing will recognize text and present the option to select words for a search, and instantly return product results if the object has a barcode. Bing Vision can also detect product information from UPC codes, QR Codes and Microsoft Tag, as well as cover art for books, CDs, DVDs and video games. When traveling, people can also scan text with Bing Vision to copy or translate it.
We hope you enjoy our favorite Bing features on your Windows Phone!
– The Bing Team