Bing for Android hits the Verizon Wireless marketplace

Microsoft has been getting a lot of download love for its Bing app for the iPhone. On August 30, the company announced delivery of a new Bing app -- this time for Android.

Bing for Mobile Android App available to Verizon customers.  You can now download the free Bing App from your Verizon Wireless Android phones’ Marketplace.

Like the Bing for iPhone app, the homepage features the Bing image of the day with clickable hotspots. Users will be able to swipe through up to seven days' worth of Bing images, Microsoft officials said.

Voice search is enabled in the new Bing Android app, as well, according to the blog post, as is integration with Bing Maps.

Bing on the iPhone has proven surprisingly popular (in terms of number of downloads from the Apple store). Microsoft has issued a few fixes for it since its initial release in December 2009. Some Windows Mobile phone users have said they felt left by the wayside, in terms of the functionality and appearance of Bing on iPhone compared to how it works/looks on Windows Phones.

I've asked Microsoft for more details as to which other carriers might be getting Bing for Android next. No word back yet. Stay tuned....

Update: This just in from a corporate spokesperson: "The Bing for Mobile Android App is available on any VZW Android 2.x devices and higher. The only device we don’t support today is the Motorola Devour. Given the deep partnership with VZW on Bing search, we’ve decided to roll out our Bing search experiences on VZW first. We’re working to make Bing available on the other mobile operators and their Android devices."

Microsoft unveiled Bing for Android the same day that the Hotmail team announced Exchange ActiveSync push support for a variety of phones, minus Android ones. (The reality is many Android phones currently do work with the new EAS capability, but Microsoft officials are not yet making support for Android "official.")