You may have missed it amid all the excitement today, but not only did Microsoft roll out its new Bing search engine, it also debuted Bing 411.
This service is clearly a direct challenge to Google’s GOOG-411.
Both services are free to use and both take advantage of speech-to-text technology combined with voice recognition to answer directory assistance queries.
Bing 411 (1-800-246-4411) is fairly similar to GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) in that it can provide you with local business listings, local traffic, weather and even movie listings.
It will also inform you of how many stars the business received in its reviews. Also, the second time you call, Bing 411 will remember your last inquiry and offer to provide you with your “saved searches.”
In another related tie-in, Microsoft has also launched a casual games site at the poorly-named Clubbing.com. The domain name is meant to represent “Club Bing.” Unfortunately, the domain name conjurs up images of baby seals getting knocked around a bit so hopefully Microsoft changes that soon.
It reminds me of other unfortunate domain name choices like Therapist.com.
Microsoft acquired the domain name in March from Kevin Healy and Simon Heaslip of Clubbing.Com Limited in Ireland. Clubbing.com was run as a site for going clubbing in various cities. Last year it had a forum with topics such as “Music and DJ Forum”.
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- Goog-411 Now Tells You Intersections (techcrunch.com)
- What Do You Think of Bing? (blogs.wsj.com)
- Microsoft Opens Bing Two Days Early (As In, Now) [Microsoft] (gizmodo.com)
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