While Android devices have quick and easy access to Google search, having alternatives on your phone is never a bad thing. The Bing search app from Microsoft has been available for Android for a while now and it, like many of the Microsoft apps for Android, continues to grow and mature nicely. The latest update to the search app brings a music discovery feature that allows you to find the song you hear in your local coffee shop or other location. Like other apps, you simply turn on the app, hit the Music button and have Bing listen to the song. Within a few seconds it will return the result, giving you the song title and artist. You can then tap on that information at the bottom of the screen and get more details about the song, artist and albums that are available from that artist. On most songs you will also get the lyrics for the song.
Once you have the song identified, you can play the song via Spotify, YouTube or Amazon. Interestingly, Microsoft’s own Groove music is not an option nor is Google Play Music. Seems like a bit
Music Discovery in Bing
of a miss in my opinion but at least you have the information in Bing and can manually go over the Play Music or Groove to download the track.
In addition to the new music discovery feature, the Bing app update also brings some other enhancements.
- Video preview: Previews start playing automatically with sound off on video search
- Related video: Discover more video clips related to the video you watch
- Camera search now supports flash, zoom, and front facing camera
If you want to try the Bing app for your Android phone or tablet, it is a free download in the Play Store.
