Windows Live Search For Mobile - I’m Impressed!
I’ve been a big fan of Google Mobile Maps on the Nokia E61 since it was released last year. However, I wasn’t terribly impressed by Windows Live Search For Mobile when the beta was announced late last year. The support for Eseries devices was questionable and the application felt more or less like a “me too”.
That was then.
Microsoft is back with a new, much improved, version of Windows Live Search For Mobile.
The new application includes great support for the Eseries (thank you Microsoft). You can easily navigate most of the application using the joystick.
Another improvement is that the whole application feels “smarter” and more polished. It’s hard to explain, but it seems more intuitive and is a much better user experience.
All in all, it is a BIG step forward and well worth trying out.
I’m also impressed by the people behind the application. After my first lukewarm comment of the application I received a very friendly letter from the program manager of Windows Live Search For Mobile. He gave me some background information and put a name and a face to an otherwise huge and quite often impersonal company.
His passion and dedication for the application was very apparent. It’s really refreshing to see that such a big company cares so much of their potential end users. That is very, very impressive!
The application can be downloaded directly from your Eseries device from here.
February 11th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
But i think it is still available only for US and UK… I still have to wait till it supports my country India.
February 11th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
I’ll have to check it out, I too tried the beta last year and was left with a huge sour taste in my mouth.
If you say it has changed then I’ll most definitley give it a shot!
I love that someone from Microsoft contacted you about this. Nothing makes me more happy then trying out products because passionate people are excited about what they’re working on.
February 11th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
I can’t input numbers on my Nokia E61.
Useless!
February 12th, 2007 at 2:17 am
Text size doesn’t look right with my E70. It also runs slow even with Wi-Fi connection.
February 12th, 2007 at 2:18 am
Hi, I am using a Chinese version Nokia N71. The softkey/menu does not work on my phone.
February 12th, 2007 at 4:32 am
I just tried it, works pretty well on my E61, especially for US maps.. except the coverage is quite limited for Asian maps (tried both the US and UK versions). Over Wi-Fi seems to work well for me (and my connection here in India is.. slow!.. haha). Awesome find, thanks!
Dinesh
February 12th, 2007 at 5:49 am
I INSTALLED THE VERSION FOR S60 ON MY E61. THE KEYPAD DOES NOT SEEMS TO BE WORKING FOR E61. ? ANY COMMENTS DINESH? BY THE WAY IAM IN INDIA TOO.
February 12th, 2007 at 6:28 am
Sorry to be stupid but how do I install this file. I can’t seem to install via the Nokia Install manager or by downloading directly to my E61.
Ta
H
February 12th, 2007 at 7:52 am
I have the same problem with the keyboard on my E61 mentioned above. For example when I type “test” i get aesa. I’m really only keeping it for the easy access to traffic maps…
February 12th, 2007 at 8:04 am
Hi,
i just tried it on my E60, but it doesn´t work properly…the buttons don´t correspond with the options.. I can´t exit the application and can´t go to the menu
I hope it will work properly .. seems to be a great application
February 12th, 2007 at 10:01 am
still buggy. but good effort.
February 12th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I have Nokia E-62. Yes, there is a trick about keys because E-devices kind of different. On my E-62 I need to press and hold left-down key and than I can use all other keypads. I think you guys with E-60, E-61 should do the same. Otherwise app is great. Nice friendly UI.
February 12th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Anyone with European experience?
February 12th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Nice app .. It will be reviewed on my site:) but Ed is much faster
February 12th, 2007 at 11:22 am
i installed in my nokia n80ie and works great, i htink you have to reboot the phone before open the application. so far so good
February 12th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
the key mappings are a little werid, I guess a lot of the target phones don’t have qwerty keyboards, so putting in numbers you cycle from “space”, “,”, “.”, “1″ etc… providing the blue-shift key is presed.
funnly it also installs with a mini icon like google maps does!
It’s pretty fast here in wifi in the uk
The map of my neighbourhood is pretty clear too, maybe clearer than google maps, but no aerial view.
February 12th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Is it possible to install both UK & US versions on the same mobile?
February 13th, 2007 at 2:32 am
Hey all…glad to hear that you’re trying it, sorry to hear that it’s not always working! It sounds like there are a couple of issues:
no numbers - you should be able to input numbers in addresses (when you choose “Near” and input a new location), but it seems like something isn’t registering correctly with the Alt key when you’re trying numbers on the homescreen…we’ll check it out.
keyboard mapping - for the E61 users out there that can’t seem to get normal letters…any chance that you’ve got numlock turned on? It sounds like we think you’re hitting number keys (like Peter mentions) and you’re reverting to “triple-tap” mode…which is more than a bit weird on a QWERTY keyboard phone, I’ll admit.
country support - yep, only US & UK right now…although it will sort of work in France, Italy & Australia, you just won’t get traffic or category searches…we’re working on improving our coverage, but no timeline for new countries that we can announce publicly yet. CK, unfortunately you can’t install both side-by-side right now…that should be possible in future versions, though, so stay tuned…sorry!
install - you should be able to install it just over-the-air…are you getting an error message when you download it from http://wls.live.com?
Oh, and the mini icon…yep, that’s because the E-series displays are so much higher-res than most that our icon is way to small…we’re looking at making it much bigger for these devices in particular, we just didn’t quite get to it before this release…
I’ll try to keep an eye on the comments here, but if you’ve got any other questions, also feel free to email me directly at sgarrity at microsoft dot com. Thanks! -Steve
Steve Garrity
Program Manager - Live Search for mobile
February 13th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft and I’m always playing with open-source software, but when MS program managers are decent enough to address issues users have identified in a free product, on a blog not affiliated with MS, instead of simply ignoring the comments, that seriously warms my heart.
I’ve downloaded it straight to my e61, and despite the number issue identified above (numbers can only be made to appear using the blue function key in multi-tap mode), I’m really liking this release. Thanks Ed for the review, and Steve Garrity for the comments.
February 14th, 2007 at 11:27 am
overall a nice application… however a few bugs from what I see
-backspace key doesnt work - to delete you have to use the joystick
-to get numbers the application thinks its regular phone pad you get the number if you hold the blue key and hit the number key 4 times
-cant search for nearby locations from the map view itself like googlemaps
February 15th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I’ve noticed that Smart2go software is compatible with E61 and you can download the application and the maps freely from their website. I added a bluetooth gps to my E61 and it worked beautifuly.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Works great on my e50, just like its does on my pc. and its quick as well over gprs
November 16th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
I can’t find Live Search for Symbian anymore. Is there a good link out there?