Microsoft details iPhone mobile app discovery with Bing

By Tom Warren, on 9th Jun 11 4:17 pm with 12 Comments

Microsoft is making it easier for iPhone users to find apps using Bing.

The Bing team has improved iPhone mobile app discovery across its latest updated version of Bing Mobile Browse. Microsoft is trying to surface applications that people would never have searched for, through its Bing search engine.”We are helping people with this “serendipitous discovery” by surfacing relevant apps automatically in the context of normal search queries,” explains Bing program manager Mujahid Hasan.

The feature is U.S. only at the moment but it surfaces iPhone applications in the context of a normal web query. For example, if you search for Facebook or Hotels in Seattle you will be presented with the Facebook application and Trip/hotel related applications. iPhone users can also explicitly search for the application they are attempting to find. If you search for “News apps” then you’ll be presented with applications such as CNN News or Fox News. You can also search for “Fruit Ninja” and you will be presented with a link to the application.

iPhone users can download the applications from iTunes, thanks to a handy download link in Bing. Microsoft hasn’t stopped there though. You can also launch some apps directly from the search results. If an application isn’t installed when you click the “download app” link, it will take you to the iTunes App Store. Over 50 apps, including Yelp, Facebook and IMDb can be launched dirtily from a bing search. Some even support deep launching, allowing a search query to be placed into the application. For example if you search for “Thor 3D” and have the IMDb app installed, clicking on the download link will launch you into the IMDb search experience within the IMDb iPhone app.

The updated iPhone app search is available immediately on m.bing.com

Bing mobile iPhone app search

  • http://twitter.com/vashibhavin vashibhavin

    How about showing some love to WP7 Marketplace. The search seriously sucks.

    • GB007

      It really does show one of the problems with MS right now, different divisions do not seem to work together, MS needs better management. 

    • Anonymous

      relax wait for nokia!

    • MSblog

      Maybe a long wait, that ship looks as if it is headed for the rocks.   

    • MSblog

      Maybe a long wait, that ship looks as if it is headed for the rocks.   

    • FMH

      No wait for Mango! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/dominic.blakey Dominic Blakey

    I still find it weird that Microsoft is helping users of Apple products…

    • Guest

      Just a refection of the reality. osi is just too big of a market to ignore

    • GRS_DEV

      it’s a preception changer. If you are on iOS and start preceiving Bing as an innovator, then you’re more likely to trust and explore other products from the maker of bing. Simple logic. Trojan horse strategy. Skype will be useful in that manner also.

      A brilliant one also! So you decided you don’t want WP7/8/9/n whatever version and you’re still in love with your iPhone 4/5/6/n. that’s fine! The name of the game has been and continues to be eyeballs. By reaching those users who are completely on the other side of the spectrum using nice shiny kick ass features MS would be essentially expanding the breadth of its reach across platforms, OS’, and demographics.

      Just for the record, the Office products on Mac have consistently been a third of a generation ahead of those that are released on Windows. They also tend to have some nifty add ons and features that don’t get rolled into the Windows version of Office until later.

  • http://www.facebook.com/dominic.blakey Dominic Blakey

    I still find it weird that Microsoft is helping users of Apple products…

  • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

    “The feature is U.S. only at the moment”

    No one could see that one coming, nope, no one!

  • Kives343

    I thought this was already a feature because my results on Bing have been doing this for 3 months now. Weird…