Bing Emulates Google's 411 Service

Today Microsoft announced Bing411, which is essentially voice search powered by Tellme. This can be accessed at 1-800-BING-411 or 1-800-246-4411.

"More than simple local business search, Bing 411 makes it easier to get on-the-go information: driving directions, traffic reports, sports scores, stock quotes, weather reports, and even information the cheapest place near you to buy gas," says Yvonne Chou, Senior Program Lead for Bing411.

According to Chou, Bing411 can be called to find a business and connect to it or get a text message with a link to a map, which can also be sent to friends. The service also includes star ratings of businesses based on reviews from other consumers.

Though the service was officially announced today, PC Magazine had an opportunity to review it recently and Mark Hachman with that publication says it doesn't do a great job of differentiating between actual and sponsored search results.

He compares the service to Google's 1-800-GOOG-411, and says while Google is actually better in the area mentioned above, Bing is "at least comparable if not slightly superior to what Google has accomplished."

That is certainly an interesting endorsement, especially considering over half of people (from one survey) can imagine using Bing over Google. Meanwhile, Bing has already taken the number 2 spot in search market share according to StatCounter.

What you think?