Bing Maps for Mobile Goes Indoors With Mall and Airport Maps

Bing Maps, Microsoft’s often underrated mapping product added yet another feature to its line-up today: indoor maps for Bing Maps for Mobile on iOS, Android and Blackberry devices. Bing Maps for the desktop already included this feature since December and the “Mango” update for Windows Phone also includes this functionality in its native maps app. Now, however, even more users will be able to use this feature, which also gives Bing another feature that Google Maps doesn’t yet offer.

clip_image008Bing’s indoor maps are available for about 400 shopping malls and a number of airports in the U.S.  The service includes some nifty features such as the ability to switch between different levels in big malls.

Microsoft also made it easier for users to find these maps. Just search Bing or Bing Maps for the name of the mall and click on the “Mall Map” link that now graces the bottom left corner of the screen when an indoor map is available.

It looks like Microsoft developed these maps itself, but it is worth noting that there are also a number of other companies that offer indoor mapping services. Micello, for example, just launched and API for indoor maps that other developers can add to their apps and Point Inside has long offered apps with indoor maps for malls and airports (including some international ones).