Five Must-know Changes in Bing, in Five Minutes

Microsoft's search engine `Bing' has undergone a set of changes that it describes as `the next phase' in offering users a better search experience.

1. A newer look-and-feel

Cosmetic changes have been made not only to Bing's logo but also to the overall UI of the Bing homepage. The redesign is aimed at making the experience more visually appealing, clean and simple, while making it more responsive. However, can it become as simple as Google's homepage which most of us are accustomed to?

2. Facts and opinions combine

The existing features `Snapshot' (which deals with factual information) and `Sidebar' (which deals with social updates) have been combined to give users a single point of access to relevant information that supports the search results obtained.

3. Faster results without searching

A new feature called as `Page zero' will allow users to quickly carry out associated tasks corresponding to the entered search terms without having to actually search for them, while taking care of ambiguities that may arise about what exactly the user wants to find.

4. Better positioning of results

Using what it calls as `Pole Position', Bing will place those results at the top where it is sure that this is the exact information which the user needs. Such results will occupy greater screen estate. Microsoft claims that it has a ton of data about user engagement with search results on the basis of which this feature was developed.

5. Device-optimized experience

Bing's new interface will be able to better adapt to the screen size and device being used along with being able to take advantage of any touch input that the device may have. However, will it be able to match the effortless ease with which Google's search can be used on mobile devices?