Back in October Microsoft launched six Bing Apps for Windows 8 including News, Finance, Weather, Sports, Maps and Travel to help you explore your world with a set of immersive vertical experiences.  The apps were designed from the ground up to embrace speed and touch providing you with a fast, fluid and consistent way to delve into your interests and get things done.

Starting today they are rolling out a significant set of updates across the apps that make it easier to customize and personalize them to best suit your needs. Let’s take a look at what’s new:

News– Interested in politics, but not very interested in entertainment? Or the other way around? Now you can customize the Bing News app to keep tabs on specific story categories, topics, or news sources that matter to you. Plus, we’re now supporting RSS feeds and offline reading so you can make the news truly your own and take it with you.

Maps– With more features to help you find the best the way to get there faster, the Bing Maps app now supports improved driving, transit and walking directions, as well as up-to-the minute traffic incidents notifications including construction and accidents.  Want a more convenient way to save the places you visit the most often? Save common places as favorites or pin them to your start screen so that they roam across your Windows 8 devices.

Finance: Keep tabs on your portfolio and gauge performance of your stocks at a glance with the Bing Finance app which now includes an updated watch-list, real-time US stock updates and customizable interactive charts. 

Sports– From in-game NBA statistics to Chinese Super League soccer results, the Bing Sports app is a one-stop shop to keep up with your favorite team. We are adding 29 additional sports leagues, with a total of 65 covering Soccer, American Football, Basketball, Rugby, Cricket, Tennis, Motor Sports, Baseball, Ice Hockey and Golf.

Travel: Now with additional travel content from Lonely Planet, Frommer’s and Fodor’s, the Bing Travel app is the best place to plan your next vacation. Check out attractions, restaurants and activities, including huge photos and 3D panoramas. Book flights and hotels directly within the app filtering by price, amenities and more.

Weather* – Want to know the forecast 100 miles west in 4 hours? Now you can stay a step ahead with dynamically moving weather maps for your city or region in a number of categories including satellite, temperature, precipitation, cloud cover and radar.  Also get weather conditions at ski resorts in 24 countries around the world.

Whether you’re looking for news from your favorite source, conditions at a nearby ski resort, or highlights from last night’s Scottish Premier League matches, the Bing Apps for Windows 8 are there to help you find what you are looking for and quickly get things done. 

To make sure you have the latest versions of the Bing Apps, visit the Windows Store from your Windows 8 device and click on the text notification for updates in the upper-right of the screen.  From there, select the Bing Apps and hit ‘Install Updates’.

- The Bing Team