Bing's Newspaper matching comes to UK

Bing's Newspaper matching comes to UK
Bing takes on Goggles with Vision

Using Bing will help Windows Phone users search for digital versions of magazine and newspaper articles with its new Bing Image Matching for Newspapers feature.

The update, which is set to roll out to UK customers in March via Bing Vision, will use the phone's camera to take a photo of an article and then link the user directly to the online version.

Bing Image Matching for Newspapers offers users global access and provides content to over 3,000 publications worldwide.

Search using Book, CD and DVD covers

This will follow on from an update launched in the UK today which adds new functionality to the Bing Vision feature.

If you have a handset running Windows Phone you can already use Bing Vision to detect QR codes and Microsoft tags and search for related information online. The new update allows users to scan barcodes, CD, DVD and book covers using their phone's camera.

Bing Vision will then return relevant information on the product and it will be able to provide local availability and cost comparison information.

This is clearly Microsoft's attempt to compete with Google's Goggles application which does similar searches, but allows users to scan any brand logo or product.

These are useful features and it's great to see Bing expanding the technological appeal of the Windows Phone operating system. If you own a Windows Phone mobile are you looking forward to these updates?

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.