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Microsoft hope people will verbalise "Bing" in much the same way searchers already "Google" the web.
The computer giant has been keen to differentiate Bing as a "decision engine" rather than a search engine. In Microsoft's official press release, CEO Steve Ballmer says: "When we set out to build Bing, we grounded ourselves in a deep understanding of how people really want to use the Web. Bing is an important first step forward in our long-term effort to deliver innovations in search that enable people to find information quickly and use the information they've found to accomplish tasks and make smart decisions." With Bing, Microsoft hopes users will access information quicker and with fewer clicks. Features such as flight times, weather, images and product
reviews are now integrated into the search results so answers become instant. Bing's new features include a new user interface, instant preview of websites and videos, automatic categorisation of search results and Best Match results with deep links. Will these be enough to knock Google off the top spot? Below is a summary of some of Bing's new features; many of these are still only available in the USA and have not yet been rolled out to UK users however you may still access them by changing your location settings found in the top right hand corner to 'United States'.
The user interface is the first obvious change. Bing has added photographs to both the home page and the header of search results. This addition is a popular change from the minimalist design we are used to with Google who continue to maintain the simplicity of their
homepage as their most fiercely guarded real-estate. The photographic elements make Bing instantly recognisable and add a touch of personality without compromising user experience.
One of the most significant changes in terms of usability is how Bing organises search results into categories. For example, by searching on toyota prius, you will see dynamic categories appear in the top left of the page. This is Bing telling the searcher that for the general topic of 'Toyota Prius', it has results that relate to reviews, dealers that sell this car, videos and so on.
Similarly, a search for malaria will offer treatment and medication categories to help refine your query and a summary of the disease from one of Bing's content partners is also displayed as one of the first results. Not every search
