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Microsoft has just release an iPhone app for their Bing (free at the App Store) search engine. While the move may seem odd, it makes complete sense for Microsoft to want a mobile app presence for Bing. After all, Google’s iPhone app has been out for some time, and it offers a useful voice search feature—while also offering handy shortcuts to some Google web services.

Microsoft’s Bing app was clearly inspired by Google’s. Voice search is a big part of the app, and unlike Google’s app, it can also be used for Maps (unfortunately, Bing doesn’t support public transportation routing). They’ve also implemented my favorite feature from Google’s app — the ability to perform a voice search automatically when you hold the phone up to your ear. Just like Google’s app, there’s a chime that signals when to start the voice command. It’s also just as accurate from my testing.

The Bing app is also much better looking than Google’s. The UI is heavily polished — just like Bing.com — and it displays the Bing photo of the day when you launch. There’s also some random trivia strewn about to add a bit of fun to your day.

Ultimately, this app probably won’t win over many Bing converts — except for those that want a prettier alternative to Google’s app. If Microsoft ever adds public transportation routes to their maps, then I could see myself using this more than Google’s. Otherwise, this app just seems to exist so Microsoft can say they’re focusing on mobile apps.

[Source: All Things Digital]