Microsoft Releases MSN App Suite To Android And iOS

It appears that Microsoft really is making an effort to become a wireless ecosystem player instead of being a love-your-own type of company. Microsoft has just released a suite of mobile apps under its MSN brand name that will run on Android, iOS, and even Amazon handsets.

These apps were originally developed under the Bing label, and were intended to used for mobile devices that run on either Windows Phone or Windows 8. Now, Microsoft is offering them for free to Android, iOS, and Amazon users.

The suite includes MSN mobile apps for News, Weather, Sports, Health and Fitness, Food and Drinks, and Money. They can be downloaded for free at the Google Play Store, iTunes, and the Amazon Appstore.

Three months ago in September, Microsoft stated its intentions of bringing its mobile apps (rebranded at that time) across to other platforms over the following months. It seems that the tech giant is making good on its word.

MSN may be considered a bit old school now, but it still has more than 400 million visitors flocking to its web portal on a daily basis. And even though it started out also doing web searches, MSN is now known for delivering news and information on a variety of categories. 

And another thing nifty about the new MSN mobile apps is that they do not function as mere information portals. As a matter of fact, some apps in the suite have been souped up in order to better integrate with whatever platform they are used in. 

Take the Health and Fitness app for instance. When used on iOS, the app lets users track their runs, diet information and cardio activity, and then work seamlessly with Apple's HealthKit platform. 

The apps can also be customized according to the user's preferences. Sports aficionados can set their Sports apps to deliver news about their favorite teams or favorite sport leagues; pop culture enthusiasts can likewise customize how they want their entertainment- and arts-related news delivered to their mobile devices. 

It may appear that Microsoft is kind of giving up on its Windows Phone, instead focusing its attention on developing its suite of MSN mobile apps and other offerings (Office, Xbox Music, OneDrive). But perhaps the company is just picking its battles more carefully. Let's face it, it really is difficult competing with the latest iPhones and Galaxy devices nowadays. But if Microsoft can worm its way into other platforms via its apps -- well, just maybe, they can use it for leverage when they do decide to release future flagship offerings down the road.