Windows Phone ‘Mango’ search offers location-specific results, app integration (video)

Windows Phone’s latest iteration (codename Mango ) is all about keeping it inside the hood. We had an opportunity to take a seat with a Windows Phone rep before today’s big reveal , they usually allow us to in on a number of new features so that they can most probably set the OS apart — in any case in terms of navigating the tangled web that’s the internet. We did get a fast glimpse at IE9 , however the new browser isn’t much of a game changer — it supports HTML5, but still won’t deliver Flash or Silverlight compatibility. The genuine news here’s within the Bing-powered search function, which lets users surf the vast expanses of the net four other ways, with a spotlight at the local.

Clicking the dedicated search button from the Windows Phone home screen takes you to a well-recognized Bing page, offering the visual, audio, and voice options we heard rumored earlier this month, together with a city scape icon. That skyline represents Local Scout, a function that focuses your queries at the neighborhood you’re in, providing location-specific results that highlight important details about establishments and events on your immediate area. Clicking through on any link brings up general information in addition to reviews gleaned from popular user-generated sites. That isn’t all that’s new, however, as Mango also offers some nifty tricks in its visual search. Rather than just snapping a barcode, you could use a shot of the product itself to increase details about pricing, availability, and relevant apps.

The demo we saw used the duvet of The woman Who Played With Fire, and supplied some of the search results a link to the title inside the Kindle app. This is not exactly groundbreaking technology — Google Goggles does much an analogous thing — but what’s truly different this is the tight integration of such functions within the operating system, in addition to links to outside applications. Thus, the experience is a little unlike every other within the OS atmosphere, upending our idea of what it means to look the internets without resorting to standalone programs. Whether it’s something users will take to is anybody’s guess, but we’re certain it’s enough to get folks talking. For a deeper (and intensely vertical) look into Local Scout, hop on past the break.

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This post is tagged: different ways, establishments, important information, search function, tight integration