Microsoft regularly introduces new features to its Bing search engine — such as the coming 3D maps — but often those features can't be used outside of Bing. That changes as of today with the launch of the Bing Platform for developers.

Announced today at Microsoft's Build 2013 conference, the Bing Platform will let app developers create experiences in their apps around Bing's services. For example, if an app wants to perform real-time translation of text, it could tie into the Bing Translator Control API for that capability, so the developer won't have to create the service from scratch.

Or, more pointedly, developers can use Microsoft's services instead of Google's.

The Bing Platform offers developers three kinds of services: First is "Entities," which bring Bing's "deep knowledge" about various subjects to apps. In a demo at the Build 2013 keynote, Microsoft Vice President Gurdeep Singh Pall showed how the Bing Entities API could be used to show information about an architect of a particular building in a maps app.

The second Bing Platform service helps developers introduce "natural and intuitive" user experiences. A major component of this is integrating voice interaction with apps, but it also includes things like optical-character recognition, so an app can interpret the text on a sign or document as information and not just an image.

Finally, Bing Platform has the "awareness of the physical world," which extends beyond simple interpretation of location, letting apps "put the user at the center of the action." That implies augmented-reality experiences with real-time response to the location of the user's device and the ways he is interacting with it.

The Bing Platform will let developers more easily create apps with features such as text-to-speech, real-time traffic and translation. It also gives them motivation to integrate Microsoft services into their apps instead of those of a third party.

Although Bing has a small market share compared to Google, Microsoft is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the service, and it powers search on many devices beyond PCs and Windows Phones, including BlackBerry phones, Kindle tablets and Apple's Siri.

Will developers favor the Bing Platform over other services? And will it rival Google's offerings? You tell us. Give us your thoughts on Microsoft's new developer tools in the comments.

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The Xbox One's Kinect can be customized to not see or collect data on its users, said Microsoft Thursday in attempt to calm privacy concerns.

Microsoft said previously the next-generation Kinect will be able to see players faces, recognize their facial expressions, monitor their heart rate, respond to their voice and monitor their emotional feedback. While this certainly represents a leap forward in gaming technology, some have raised concerns about what Microsoft is doing with all this data.

In an attempt to clarify the capabilities of the new Kinect, Microsoft said that users will have complete control over each of its settings upon setup, including when the Xbox One's Kinect is on or off.

According to the Microsoft statement, when the Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, that conversation is not being recorded or uploaded.

It's important to note that The Washington Post published a report Thursday that says Microsoft and eight other tech companies are sharing a broad range of user data with the National Security Advisory under a secret program known as PRISM. While the report states this data collection is not intentionally targeted at "any U.S. citizen, any other U.S. person or anyone located within the United States," it overshadows any statement by Microsoft about privacy protection.

If you don't want the Kinect observing you during games or other entertainment, you can pause the device, Microsoft said — though some titles will require Kinect integration. When the Xbox One is turned off, the Kinect will only listen for the voice command of "Xbox On."

Additionally, while the Kinect can take in data from players to deepen the game experience, such as monitoring heart rates during a fitness game, Microsoft said the data remains on the Xbox One without the player's permission.

The new Kinect and Xbox One will launch later this year.

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It’s all but set in stone that Microsoft’s sleek, new next-gen iteration of the Xbox — whether it’s called the “Xbox 720” or simply “Xbox” — will star in Tuesday’s major company announcement.

But before you start saving your pennies, it’s important to address a very buzzy rumor surrounding the device: The next Xbox could be “Always On.”

It sounds innocuous enough, but the Always On trend is very polarizing for game developers and fans alike. Some view it as the best way to rid piracy once and for all, while others are concerned its massive drain on resources could affect how everyone plays his or her games.

Mashable spoke with game developers and media distributors across the spectrum, from big companies to tiny studios, to get a handle on what Always On means and how it can affect you. Even if the next Xbox doesn’t come out with Always On capabilities, you will see a lot more of it on your computer, and maybe even in consoles to come. Read more…

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The "Xbox: A New Generation Revealed" event — where Microsoft will show off an upgraded Xbox console, games and other gems, will be aired live May 21 on Spike TV as a commercial-free, one-hour broadcast sandwiched between a pre and post show. Read more…
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Nokia has officially raised the curtain on its latest flagship challenger, the Lumia 925, as it plots its slow but steady comeback to the smartphone top table.

The Lumia 925 is a direct sequel to the Lumia 920, featuring a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ display with ClearBlack technology, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and an 8.7-megapixel PureView camera with optical image stabilisation – all rolled into a slick and slim metal chassis – for the first time in the Lumia range.

Elsewhere, it’s home to an all-new feature called Smart Camera which introduces a range of editing options and shooting modes to further augment the handset’s imaging capabilities, plus a host of Nokia’s best apps and services pre-installed, such as Nokia HERE Maps with free navigation and Nokia Music for unlimited streaming of free playlists.

"We keep innovating," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. "We're advancing experiences on the Nokia Lumia portfolio whether that means great new benefits for an existing Lumia owner, or bringing new showcase devices like the Nokia Lumia 925."

The Lumia 925 also comes with Microsoft’s mobile Office suite out of the box and wireless charging support though compatible back covers and charging docks, which can be purchased separately.

Vodafone UK has already confirmed it will be offering the Lumia 925 on its Red tariffs when it launches sometime in June and will have exclusivity over the 32GB edition of the handset.

Phones 4u has also revealed it will be ranging the 925 on contract through various networks and will reveal pricing and availability details in the near future.

Like/dislike what you see? Tell us why in the comments section below.

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