Bing for iPad adds gesture-based searching

Microsoft has released an update to its Bing search app for the iPad adding a new gesture-based search feature. Dubbed Lasso, the new feature allows users to select a word or phrase from within the app by outlining it with a touch gesture rather than needing to copy and paste it into the search box. In the company’s blog, the developers note that the new feature is a result of research into the way that searches are conducted, noting that many searches are inspired by things people are already seeing in their web browser, rather than original words. Lasso is designed to reduce the number of steps required to search on an item in a web page by allowing users to simply “circle and search in just two steps.” The new version also adds improvements to searching for movies, allowing users to view multiple showtime days and theatres, support for swiping through previous Bing homepage images and a number of other performance and UI improvements. Bing for iPad is available from the U.S. App Store as a free download.