Bing image searching out performs Google
It's not very often that a search engine gets the better of Google. However, in our opinion, that is precisely what a few well honed and thought out additions to Microsoft's Bing search engine has done where image searching is concerned.
Rather than scroll through page after page of images of a variety of sizes and types in order to find the one you want, Bing has added options that filter the content extremely quickly and make browsing for images a whole lot easier.
On the face of it, it might seem obvious - but they've done something Google should have done.
As you search for images you now get options to show small, medium, large or wallpaper-intended images. So if you're looking for a certain size it immediately helps filter out images that don't meet your requirements.
It also has a very cool option to display square, wide or tall images; again if you're looking for a certain style of image it's remarkable how much easier this little option makes browsing. You can also filter images out between colour and black and white. If all you want are mono images - simply click black and white.
Want an illustration rather than a drawing? Click on 'Illustration'. It makes perfect sense and has a marked impact on the ease of searching.
Finally, have a look at the 'People' option. It lets you select head and shoulder shots, faces only, etc. Very clever stuff indeed - well done Microsoft, because from our use of it so far there is no doubt it is better than Google Image Search and it also seems very swift too.
Bing Interface Wins?
One thing that makes Bing image searching so easy is the effort that Microsoft has clearly put into the interface.
The default view displays more images than Google anyway but the ability to switch views to a predetermined layout/number of thumbnails per page is handy and intuitive. Thew new features described on the left of this page are also incredibly well delivered. There are no fancy buttons or hidden features - just a simple set of links down the page that make you feel as if you've used the tool before.
It's the interface that wins in our opinion. Google has always been the king of cool, concise and operationally brilliant - but Bing has managed to achieve more functionality without any fuss whatsoever.
If you delve a little deeper you'll also find that the facilities have found their way into the Video searching. You can search for clips of a certain length, of a particular screen style (i.e. standard or widescreen), low, medium or high resolution and select the source too.
