Ba-da-Bing – Microsoft’s New Search – Part 2

In my earlier write up about Bing, I just used what was presented to me when I launched Bing. What I didn’t notice was that it automatically determined that I was in Canada and displayed the Canadian version of Bing. I didn’t expect that the US version would be any different – but I was wrong. After changing my location to US – English, I saw a similar, yet different Bing.

On the home page, Bing shows Travel and Shopping, which are not displayed on the Canadian version. When I search in the shopping section, you are presented with options down the left hand side – much the same way as images or video’s works. These allow you to filter your search even further. For Shopping, the options are Show, Category, Brand, and Price.

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Ba-da-Bing – Microsoft’s New Search Prepares for Launch

One of the big news stories this week was Microsoft’s big Bing announcement. Bing is a “Decision Engine” providing customers with a first step in moving beyond search to help make faster, more informed decisions. This new Decision Engine idea is designed to empower people to gain insight and knowledge from the Web, moving more quickly to important decisions. Initially this will be focused on four key vertical areas: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business.

Bing is currently in private beta and is expected to launch on June 3rd. I was invited to test out the new Bing, so I thought I would post some pictures and thoughts about it.

If you’ve used Live search in the US, then you’re familiar with the vibrant picture that is displayed behind the search window. The new Bing engine brings this forward and extends it to those outside of the US, like here in Canada. As you’re typing in your search terms, a list of suggestions is populated below allowing you to navigate more quickly to the results you are looking for.

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