Bing Maps demo

I can’t remember whether it was Ignite or the Surface launch this year but I was struck by the use of Bing Maps. It has rattled around in my head for a while but I couldn’t really figure out why I was bothered.

At one point the demo was all about a hiking trip. The new collections feature in chromium Edge (Chredge) seemed to be the focus. I can’t remember exactly what the context was but I now realise why it bothered me. The demo had out the hiking trip together as a neat list in the browser linked to Bing Maps. In a way this is something I do all the time. Not exactly with collections but definitely with maps. On my WindowsPhone I was able to use the maps app with the places I picked on Bing Maps. It was all linked to my Microsoft account.

Things have changed now. I have to use Google Maps. Favourites have to be on Google Maps. This is down to Bing Maps not being updated very often, generally being very poor and also Microsoft don’t actually have a way of taking directions with you on the move. You literally can’t plan a trip with Bing Maps and then later use your mobile phone to navigate because Bing Maps doesn’t exist on IOS or Android.

Back to those demos using Bing Maps. I get why Microsoft wants to demo it’s own property. I do. However, it’s ridiculous because mapping is something you want to take with you on a mobile phone. A dual screen device would be great for mapping. However, the new Android Surface Duo will have Google Maps.

It bothers me that the most common use case for planning on Bing Maps on a PC is to take the plan with you on mobile. The problem is you can’t.

Conversation 8 comments

  • ponsaelius

    18 November, 2019 - 7:08 pm

    <p>Just spotted some mistakes. Oddly I can't edit the post without a WordPress debug error. Funny old world.</p>

  • remc86007

    19 November, 2019 - 12:53 am

    <p>On a related note, I don't know why Microsoft let Bing Maps fall so far behind. I swear five years ago, Bing Maps seemed to be about on par with Google Maps.</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      19 November, 2019 - 3:40 am

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/forums/microsoft/microsoft/thread/bing-maps-demo#490222&quot; target="_blank"><em>In reply to remc86007:</em></a></p><p>A guess would be that Google could monetize maps with ads OR giving business Maps users were nearby data on passers by. In contrast, MSFT may not have found any way to monetize Bing Maps, so it was all outlay.</p><p>As evil as Google may be, there are some services its business model are far better suited to than anything with which MSFT could compete.</p>

    • Usman

      Premium Member
      19 November, 2019 - 4:34 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#490222">In reply to remc86007:</a></em></blockquote><p>It was competitive pre 2012, but around winter 2012, Google did a major refresh of their entire maps, which were way superior to bing.</p><p><br></p><p>Remember around that time there was confusion between using bing maps or here maps. Then in 2014 IIRC Microsoft killed its internal mapping team and lent their team to Uber and Here Maps.</p><p><br></p><p>Google has mobile, it's got retail involvement via wifi gps and beacons, the local level of intelligence is exponentially higher than any other map provider, the only that could come close are mapbox and applemaps.</p>

  • Usman

    Premium Member
    19 November, 2019 - 4:36 am

    <p>They haven't said this officially, but Bing Maps is legacy. </p><p><br></p><p>Azure Maps is the mapping solution they're moving towards, but that's targetted to LOB applications that require location based info like logistics companies.</p>

  • andrewtechhelp

    Premium Member
    19 November, 2019 - 6:30 am

    <p>There's one thing that I think Bing Maps does MUCH better than Google Maps does – although I use Google Maps most of the time.</p><p><br></p><p>Bing Maps colours toll roads differently from free roads (Orange for toll roads vs Yellow for free roads on the web AND Green for toll roads vs Purple for free roads on the Windows 10 Maps app). Google doesn't visually signify toll roads differently from free roads, which is very annoying.</p>

  • minke

    20 November, 2019 - 8:25 am

    <p>Remember when Bing search, Bing Maps, Cortana, and Windows phones were actually cool and useful? Remember unlimited OneDrive storage? Now they are all mostly just history. It is all part of Microsoft's cunning plan to ignore consumers (mostly) and focus on enterprise. It seems to be working for Ms in terms of profit, but they are leaving the consumer space to Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook and others. Speaking as the leader of a very small business, they are also beginning to leave many of us in the lurch too. Office 365 or Microsoft 365 or whatever it will be called is becoming too big, too bloated, and too cumbersome for many small businesses. </p>

    • Greg Green

      20 November, 2019 - 8:44 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#490486">In reply to Minke:</a></em></blockquote><p>I miss the days when there was a variety of mini suites like PFS WindowWorks or MS Works. Simple programs that handled simple needs.</p>

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