Microsoft will be adding new capabilities to its mobile search app, Windows Live Search Mobile, later this Spring. These will include the ability to map a contact, download custom maps from Virtual Earth onto your PC and any phone running Windows Mobile, and access integrated Web search and local weather (click on screen shots below). Blackberry users will be able to conduct searches by speaking into their phone, a feature already available for Windows Mobile phones.
The mapping features are the most interesting part of this announcement. Any contact you have an address for can be placed on a map. And if you want to create your own custom maps with virtual push pins marking places you want to visit, for instance, the Virtual Earth integration should come in handy.
Google and Yahoo also have their own mobile apps. Google offers mobile versions of Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube and search (not to mention my favorite Google mobile product—free directory assistance via GOOG-411).
But of the three big Web companies, Yahoo offers the most mobile functionality in Yahoo Go (maps, local search, Yahoo Mail, Flickr, weather, finance, sports, and news). And with Yahoo Go 3.0, which is now available, you can customize what you get by choosing which widgets you want (for instance, MySpace, eBay, and MTV News offer widgets on Yahoo Go 3.0). This is the start of Yahoo’s OneConnect strategy to link your phone to your social networks and the Web. If Microsoft buys Yahoo, its mobile efforts will get a big boost.
Nice, MS really has a great product here but it seems to get ignored since its not google
Not bad. Despite the “bad software” stigma around Microsoft (totally untrue) Windows Live Maps (and associated Live properties) aren’t bad. They do need to step it up with Windows Mobile though, it feels like the OS the bottleneck in improving Microsoft’s mobile properties, to be on par with, say, Apple’s.
@bob cobb: Very true. Both have their pros and cons, but most people seem to be polarized when talking about the companies, i.e. Google = always good and Microsoft = always bad. The same with Apple as well.
I like the birds-eye view on Live Maps, four directions of aerial view. Google has yet to have this feature, but Google Maps feels like a much more ’solid’ application than Live Maps. Pros and cons, pros and cons. None of them are ever 100% better.
Poor MS, they are trying very hard to crack the case of mobile computing with a perfect maps interface — If it were Google, people would flock, but due to it being Microsoft, people won’t be very interested… Microsoft needs to start focusing on their central strategy and products/services.
A hopstop.com + windowslive map would be awesome
I wish you guys would run the spell check before you post.
“But of the three big Web comapanies, Yahoo offers the most mobile functionality in Yahoo Go (maps, local search, Yahoo Mail, Flickr, weather, finance, sports, news).”
I see this kind of stuff every day now with blogs.
as i see microsoft is trying to act like other web companies like Google and Yahoo
its core business is office and operating system and microsoft is also losing at that side also
From the comments so far, you’d think Microsoft is the new Google
Though actually, as a Windows Mobile user I’m thoroughly disappointed with Google as both Live (with Live Search) and Yahoo (with Yahoo Go) are making great strides while Google’s been (seemingly) moving at a snail’s pace.
They’ve been killing Google Maps for months now!