New Bing Maps app currently under development

Mar 27, 2015 09:55 GMT  ·  By

Google Maps continues to be the top mapping service out there despite competition coming from other companies such as Microsoft and HERE, but the Redmond-based tech giant has a new plan in mind that would lead to the creation of a new application with features that are at least as good.

Right now, the company has already started testing the new service behind closed doors, and although some of the links that lead to a registration site appear to be up, nobody can get past the very first screen.

Simply called “Bing Maps Preview,” the new project appears to be a follow-up to the original Bing Maps application that's already available to users worldwide. According to the notification posted on the official website, Bing Maps Preview “works on Internet Explorer 10 and 11, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome using a PC or tablet, and Safari using a Mac, and is only available in the United States.”

Bing Maps Preview on Windows 8.1

Microsoft also has an application that is called Bing Maps Preview and that provides access to 3D world and city views on Windows 8.1. The same app offers personalized traffic alerts, business hours, and touch navigation, but it's still in development right now, so only few regions are covered.

The new service could actually be a web-based version of this Bing Maps Preview app, so no matter if you currently have Windows 8.1 or not on your computer, you might still be able to use it.

What's more intriguing is that the company actually made this service available only for private beta testers, so Microsoft might actually be working on something a bit more exciting than what we can get right now on Windows 8.1.

Hopefully, Microsoft will open the doors for the new app to more users in the coming months, as the Windows 10 launch in the second half of 2015 seems just the perfect timing to introduce a new map app as well.