Microsoft Announces New Updates For Bing Maps : Tech : Yibada

When you search for “pong” on Bing, you’ll get the usual search results you’d expect – but you’ll also see a new module at the top of the results, called “Bing pong”. The new layout is touch-friendly and has been created to be more intuitive.

The search partnership deal between Yahoo and Microsoft was rolled out in 2010, and the intention at that time was that it would remain in place for ten years. Bing Maps has shifted to a card-based format, so you’ll receive plenty of information about a particular restaurant or named destination, before you even think to start asking for directions.

“We heard that people want one experience that brings together the best content in one view, that fully reflects what they are planning, not just their last search”. Travelling is no more a hard thing to plan. Or, perform actions such as “save as favorite”, “add to route”, and “view streetside” by right-clicking on your screen.

Because chances are you will still look at your travel route on Bing Maps before you leave on your trip, the service now also tries to predict the best time to leave based on your travel time and the historical data it has about traffic (this is probably the same data that also powers a similar Cortana feature).

Discover venues using Along the Route: Need to know where hotels, restaurants and gas stations are located on the way to your destination?

Microsoft announced that the Bing Maps update will be released as a preview version.

Improved Streetside views: The new split screen layout gives a great street-side view of your destination while displaying the map directly below it. Take a 360-degree tour of the area or drag your mouse along the map to view a new location.

Planned your trip? Why not save it for future reference and invite all the people you want to involve in the outing? Aside from looking nicer, the Bing Maps update adds a lot of functionality, making the service a pretty compelling competitor to something like Google Maps.

The service is still in the development stage and it will be a while (according to the Bing Maps team) until the final build is out.