Bing updates iPhone and Android mobile apps to HTML5

By Tom Warren, on 2nd Nov 11 4:28 pm with 27 Comments

Bing Mobile HTML5 apps

Bing announced on Wednesday that it is shipping updates to its iPhone and Android mobile apps.

The updates make use of HTML5 and attempt to blend the mobile browsing experience across m.bing.com with the traditional app user interface found on the Android and iPhone mobile apps. “Rather than tightly binding functions into a mobile client, we want to embrace the drive towards exposing our functions via an HTML5 experience,” explains Microsoft’s Santanu Basu in a blog post on Wednesday. “In order for search to advance, engines need to be able to call functions that are currently ‘hiding’ in apps so we can better help people get done what they are trying to get done.”

Microsoft’s use of HTML5 is designed to make the experience of using Bing consistent across the various mobile platforms available today. The HTML5 update that ships today includes the following new features:

  • Maps/List Split View: Provides a dynamic way to synchronize a list such as business listings and directions and a map in a single view making it easy to see the location of what you’re searching for. Also works for driving directions and transit.
  • Deals: One-stop deal shopping and convenient mobile phone access for local deals from more than 100 deal providers across the US.
  • Video Domain: launched last month on m.bing, the new video domain is now available on iPhone.
  • Transit/Real-Time: the Android app now features transit routing/real-time transit and news– all features that were previously only available on m.bing.com.

The update will not be available for RIM and Windows Phone 7 users initially. “We’re working to release the same consistent experience for RIM and Windows Phone 7 devices in the future, and will share more details as they become available,” said Basu. The latest update is available in Apple’s App Store and the Android Market.

  • Justfortherecord

    Bing is infiltrating the market :) pretty soon Bing will be the default search engine for phones

    • Guest

      Yeah, I’m sure Google is scared.

    • http://www.Nave360.com Sebastian Gorgon

      ha like if… here is a fact, Google scans 10,000 pages of my site, bing? 500… 

    • Anonymous

      Yes, we all know google does a better job at scanning. Look at how great of a job it does at scanning our emails and personal info

  • http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

    The Windows Phone experience should be superior 

    • Will Fisher

      It is with bing voice, image and stuff :L

  • http://twitter.com/starksimon Stark

    Not available in App Store, Slovenia, Europe. FFS, Microsoft, why don’t you let us use it?

  • Anonymous

    I am very curious in finding out how many Android/iOS/Blackberry end up using the bing apps.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Marston/542557737 Jonathan Marston

    Not directly related, but is anyone else seeing animated transitions on the desktop site today? I just noticed earlier and thought I was imagining things at first. It’s a small thing, but gives it a cool touch

    • http://twitter.com/teusje teusje

      not seeing them. What actions are you doing.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Marston/542557737 Jonathan Marston

      It’s doing it when you search from the home page, page through results, or switch search modes (images, video, etc).

      Looks like it’s just in testing though because I tried from work just now and it’s not doing it here. Guess I got lucky, cause it does it on my home computer…

    • Anonymous

      I think you’ll only see if Silverlight is installed.

    • Anonymous

      I think it’s only in the Beta version of Bing.

  • Anonymous

    It’s like giving a glass of water to someone who is in hell.

    • Test1ngi23

      The vast majority of people must really like hell then.

    • Anonymous

      They do for some reason. Just switch to Windows Phone and get it over with. It’s literally refreshing.

    • Anonymous

      the use of “literally” was completely unneeded.

    • BigChiefSmokem

      ROFLMAO if you guys didn’t get it… this is a quote Steve Jobs made about iTunes running on Windows (which took 2 years to happen)

      How the tides have turned my friend =D

  • Anonymous

    wait, IE9 is html5 capable. so why is this not in wp7 mango? MSFT you’re ridiculous! how do you expect to compete when the right hand doesn’t talk to the left hand.

    • Seth_p

      You don’t need to fire up your browser in WP7 – just use Maps for maps, search button for images/web/news, and local scout for local goodies. When they roll out the final bits, m.bing.com should perform the same as iPhone. Unless Microsoft is doing a check, which would be stupid. WP7 you get the benefits of everything tightly integrated, unlike iOS

    • phil jay

      IE9s support for html5 is a little lacking, you mostly get to feel it when developing for mobile devices… Here and there there are some features missing that you need to workaround somehow. Besides that you don’t really need a website if its there natively.

  • http://twitter.com/TheTigerTek TheTigerTek

    Corrections WinRumors **The new HTML5 Bing Website works on my Bold 9900 as well** The new BlackBerry phones have HTML 5 compatible browsers.

  • http://twitter.com/pierrerv Pierre Venescar

    I can access the html5 version of bing on my hd7, but it’s not as animated as it it on my nexus one

  • Anonymous

    I use Bing app on my iPad instead of mSafari. Guess which one is a better UX?

    • http://twitter.com/starksimon Stark

      Safari? :D /joke

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Vladislav-Rakov/100000313410890 Vladislav Rakov

    i think snappii.com apps are worth mentioning.The service is very flexible and useful even for those who are not experienced programmers.