Bing For Android [Not Reviewed], Fail!

I was going to review Bing for Android, Microsoft's search engine's app for Android. I can't do the review and this post will explain why.

I would love to install the Bing app on one of my many devices...

I tried searching for the Bing application on my current main Android device (a ZTE Skate also known as the BAP) and it would not appear on the Android Market. Having had no luck finding it, I swapped phone and used my Samsung Galaxy Pro. No luck with that device either. Thinking all this was very strange, I then picked up my Archos 80 G9 Honeycomb tablet and searched for Bing in the Android Market. I was relieved to fing "Bing - Microsoft Corporation" but when in the Android Market description page was faced with this:

"This item is not available with your operator."

I was quite annoyed by this. I logged onto market.android.com on my laptop and found the Bing application. When trying to select a device to install the application to I was faced by a list of 11 devices the application is not compatible with.

"This app is incompatible with all of your devices." Bing Fail!

So that's how what was going to be my review of the Bing app for Android turned into another blog post about Microsoft failure. I hope this is covered in the Linux Outlaws' Microwatch segment next week because it is really worthy of it in my opinion.

Microsoft have seen some sense (HTC pun not intended) and decided to get their search engine onto the fastest growing and soon to be dominant smartphone/tablet platform (mostly open source too!). They are not doing too well if their app is not compatible on my 11 devices which range from low-end low-res screens to high-res tablets.

I look forward to Microsoft sorting this out and being able to review the Bing app for Android at some point in the future...

As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below.

Orange Monte Carlo - BAP [Pre Review]

I've had an Orange Monte Carlo for a couple of weeks now. The ZTE made follow up to the Orange San Francisco (ZTE Blade) is a ZTE Skate under its glossy fingerprint magnet finish. My affectionate name for the Orange Monte Carlo is BAP. BAP is an acronym which stands for Big Ass Phone.

The Orange Monte Carlo. BAP.

To give people an idea of what a BAP (Big Ass Phone) the Orange Monte Carlo is, with its 4.3" capacitive display, I took some photos of it with other devices. A full review of the BAP will be on todoleo.com soon. Here are the photos:

Orange Monte Carlo next to HTC Desire.

The Orange Monte Carlo next to a Nokia 1100.

Orange Monte Carlo next to an HTC Wildfire S.

Orange Monte Carlo next to Samsung Galaxy Pro.

Orange Monte Carlo next to a Royal Wedding Phone.

Orange Monte Carlo next to a HP Palm Pre 2.

Orange Monte Carlo next to a Nokia E71.

This post is a follow up to my original thread in MoDaCo Forums. As often happens, the excellent community at MoDaCo Forums is working hard on getting the most out of the Orange Monte Carlo (ZTE Skate) and a method for rooting the device as well as an early custom ROM kitchen are already available. Thanks to Paul and everyone involved in the MoDaCo community!

As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below or on the MoDaCo Forums. I'm already bracing myself for intense criticism of my photography, lighting and @fatoldgingercat fluff in the photos. Just to let you know, I took the pictures, wrote and published this blog post while in and before getting out of bed this morning.

Oh, and if you liked this article, please also Google +1 it as well.