Just because nearly 90 per cent of us use Google to search the web, doesn’t mean it’s always the best choice. Rob Beattie reveals 10 brilliant things that Bing does better than its rival
Bing can predict the future
While most of us use a search engine to find out about stuff that’s already happened, Bing Predicts (www.bing.com/explore/predicts) tries to foretell the results of events that have yet to occur - such as football matches, horse races and TV talent shows. It makes its educated guesses by analysing the popularity of a particular outcome - the preferences of pundits, news outlets and analysts and of people on social media - and then combines them to estimate the likely result. To see these frequently accurate estimates in action, just add ‘predictions’ to your search query - for example, ‘European Champions League predictions’ - to see what Bing thinks will happen. Apparently Real, Juventus, Bayern and, surprisingly, PSG are all set to go through (you’ll know if they did by the time you read this). Try the same thing with Google and it merely takes you to the official UEFA match predictor.
More sophisticated image searches
At first glance, Bing’s image search feature looks very like Google’s. Look again, though, and you’ll notice several useful, time-saving features, including the option to refine a search from within the results (for example ‘koi carp' to ‘koi carp tattoos’); pop-up enlargements, as opposed to Google’s clunky slide-out lightbox; and a Favorites option that lets you save image searches so you can run them again with a single click. We also like that you can filter photos of people to show only faces or head-and-shoulders shots.
Search the web from your Desktop
Why switch to a browser when you want to find something if you’re connected to the internet anyway? Bing Desktop is a smart, Windows 8-style gadget that gives you instant access to Bing’s search box from your Desktop or taskbar. More than that, you can also turn on ‘inline’ searching, so when you highlight a word in a document, you can search for it online without opening your browser first. You can download Bing Desktop from www.bing.com/explore/desktop (but watch out for it’s attempts to reset your browser defaults, such as your search engine and homepage).
Once upon a time, Google Desktop did much the same thing (though with less visual panache) and could also search the files on your PC. However, it was discontinued in 2012 as part of the company’s push to drive users towards the cloud.
View timelines of famous people
Often, when you search for a famous historical figure, you’re not after specific information but want a general overview of their life, the lives of their contemporaries and the important events of their time. While Google produces neat summary panels to the right of the main search results, Bing goes one better and includes a proper timeline that highlights key events and dates in a notable person’s life.
Smarter and faster video searches
Although Google can find you plenty of videos, you’ll be lucky to see four or five results depending on the size of your display. Bing arranges its video search results much more sensibly in a grid, so more are displayed on the page. Better still, when you hover your mouse pointer over one of the thumbnails, it’ll start playing a preview of the clip so you can see at glance if it’s the one you’re looking for. Bing also scours a diverse range of sources (not just YouTube) and lets you filter its results to show only free or paid-for content.
Stunning daily photos on the homepage
Whereas Google is strictly businesslike when it comes to search - blank page, Google logo, empty search box - Bing displays an attractive, interesting photo on its homepage together with a couple of links at the bottom of the screen so you can find out more about the subject. This image changes every day and you can download the pictures to use as Desktop wallpaper. It doesn’t detract from the business of searching and it’s a nice visual touch, particularly when Microsoft makes the photo interactive. You can browse and search a gallery of past images at www.bing.com/gallery.
Share your thoughts on the future of Bing
It’s only a small gesture - and who knows whether they’ll pay any attention - but the new site Bing Listens (binglistens.uservoice.com) has a feelgood factor that’s missing from the Goliath-like Google. Here, you can suggest ways in which the service could be improved, comment on other peoples’ ideas and vote them up or down. Interesting suggestions posted by users so far include the ability to search only content posted online in the last 24 hours; image searching based on a picture you upload or link to; and having relevant discount codes displayed next to items available for purchase.
See if Bing can beat Google
It’s odd to think of Microsoft as the underdog but in the fight for search supremacy, it’s a long way behind Google. So full marks to Bing for having the chutzpah to provide the fun ‘blind test’ Bing It On (www.bingiton.com). This asks you to type five search queries and pick the set of results you like best, without knowing whether they’ve been generated by Bing or Google. Sceptics have pointed out flaws in the comparison process, but it's worth having a go - and you may be surprised at the results.
View instant, detailed search results
Sure, Google has an auto-complete feature that tries to guess what you’re searching for before you’ve finished typing, but it’s nothing like as polished as Bing’s Snapshot. Start typing something into the search field and you’ll see a photo, plus links on the right to whatever content Bing thinks is relevant - a biography and quotes for a person or images and video for an animal. If it’s appropriate, Bing also lists information about the search term in the news and on social networks.
Track flights from the search box
If you’re heading off on holiday and you want to make sure that your flight isn’t cancelled or delayed, just type ‘Flight status’ and the name of the airline and flight number into Bing’s search box, and press Enter. Bing will return a summary of that plane’s current status - no muss, no fuss.
WHAT BING GETS WRONG
You’ll find plenty of anti-Microsoft critics ready and willing to bash Bing but we think it measures up well in comparison to Google. It’s certainly worth revisiting if you haven’t tried it in a while - especially for finding images and videos, and predicting the outcome of sporting events. However, it gets a firm thumbs down for not sharing its Bing Rewards scheme (www.bing.com/rewards) with the rest of us. Currently, US customers can earn points (and 100GB of OneDrive storage) for searching with Bing, and these can be redeemed - like store card points - for real goods and services. But not if you live in the UK. No fair!