Windows Live Search Mobile App Out
Microsoft has quietly released Windows Live Search for Mobile that runs on cell phones, and a Web-based version of Windows Live Messenger aimed at mobile browsers.
No official announcement was made for either product, and sources tell BetaNews the search client was only distributed internally. However, employees were permitted to offer the application freely, and by Thursday it had made its way to several enthusiast Web logs and onto the Windows Live Ideas front page.
Windows Live Search allows the user to access Live Local through an application interface rather than the Web-based client. It is split up into four separate components: a categorical based search, a mapping function, driving directions, and traffic information.
The client pulls maps -- both the standard and aerial type -- from Microsoft's main servers. The user can click and drag the map, and the application would download the additional maps needed automatically. Users can also zoom in and out of maps as needed.
What is especially different about Windows Live Search for Mobile is Microsoft's embrace of mobile phone application standards. Not only is a Windows Mobile 5.0 version available, but a J2ME version has also been produced by the company.
Microsoft's application has received near instant accolades from the community, with some going as far to say that the company may have out-innovated Google in the space.
"Without a doubt, Microsoft's was the winner," technology blog Gizmodo wrote in a side-by-side review of the two companies' products.
As of midday Friday, Microsoft had made no public comment about the software's release.
In addition to the Live Search release, Microsoft also posted a new version of its Windows Live Messenger product. The company says developers focused on how to make the Web-based experience better in this release.
"That's how we came up with the idea of message inbox: you can view and send messages to multiple friends from one page, rather than have to jump between multiple pages and deal with the pretty slow page load times," Windows Live Mobile product manager Mike Smuga wrote Thursday.