Bing apps for Windows Phone 8 -- Microsoft delivers the goods
Windows 8 users already enjoy the Bing app suite on their laptops, desktops and tablets. Since these apps are very mobile and touch-focused, it has been disappointing and rather curious that they were absent from Microsoft's own Windows Phone 8 platform. But, now, it finally arrives.
The suite is comprised of four Bing apps -- Sports, Finance, Weather and News. The apps closely mirror their desktop counterparts; including live tiles. The live tiles are nothing short of gorgeous and improve the value of the home screen immensely. By pinning the apps to the "Start" page, the user is presented with ongoing information. Tapping on the live tile delivers personalized information. I must say that the suite is, well... sweet.
News -- This is an aggregate for all major headlines and news stories. It offers such news sources as ABC, Associated Press, Reuters and many more. I am happy to report that BetaNews can be selected as a news source from within the app. To do this, you must swipe to "Sources", tap the pencil icon to enter settings, tap the magnifying glass to search and type "BetaNews" (without the quotes).
Weather -- The app can use your location to display local weather. While this is a common function of most weather apps, it worked well in my testing and I am satisfied. It offers a beautiful interface which presents the weather in a very pleasing way. In a single day, this has become one of the best weather apps for the Windows Phone 8 platform.
Finance -- This app is very helpful and can be personalized to show the stocks you own. I don't own any technology stocks, but I do like to follow them. I added Google and Apple to my "Watchlist". Once added, I can tap on the stock to read more about the company.
Sports -- This is my favorite app of the four. I was able to add all of my favorite teams to the "My Teams" view. This allows me to view personalized scores for the teams that I care about. I added the Knicks, Mets, Jets and Islanders. I am so impressed with this app, that I have uninstalled the ESPN app from my Nokia Lumia 928.
Overall, these four apps are great -- they truly improve the Windows Phone 8 experience. I only hope that Microsoft has the sense to include them by default in future versions of Windows Phone. My only complaint is that the live tiles do not always reflect the user. As an example, even though I added my favorite sports teams, the live tile still bombarded me with a story about Tiger Woods -- and I hate golf.
The apps can be downloaded by clicking the following links: Sports, Finance, Weather and News.