MSN preview updates My Apps

Looks like the msn.com/preview has been updated, or at least the “my apps” portion of the home page.  Before, there were three tabs, for Facebook, Twitter, and Windows Live, and a separate Hotmail section, but now two new apps have been added: Weather and Bing Maps:

msnmyapps

Clicking on each of the apps opens a live fly-out window, in this case showing a live Bing Maps that you can interact with, including traffic information, but My Apps shows updated information for each of the apps even before opening them up.

This is a nice improvement over the first attempt at My Apps, although interestingly the Windows Live section has apparently been dropped.  Here’s a screenshot from our original post on the new (US version) MSN.com preview:

original msn preview apps

The new page already has a Bing Maps tab (although without the nice live map in the flyout) and a Weather tab, so we’re not sure why they need to be on the home page twice, but this preview is obviously still a work in progress.  Notice anything else new? Leave a comment!

(thanks for the tip, Dirk!)

Comments

  • http://twitter.com/Alimaggs Alastair Maggs

    Hmmmm, looks great, but there’s no “Windows Live” updates in My Apps (there is in the standard-non-silverlight version). Shame.

  • JohnCz

    Obviously it still is in progress but I like they have given themselves abit more flexibility in handling other providers down the road…perhaps let users select which ones they want. I think clicking on tabs vs clicking on apps are just as efficient. However the flyout window has the potential to display more information which would be a big plus.
    Also, I wonder if they are thinking about making this App list portable to Bing & Windows Live properties as a webpart.

    A couple of questions I’d have though…
    - Will there be some color options? I like the layout but I find the rainbow highlights to be feminine.
    - Will other MSN areas get refreshed? If so, how soon?

  • cc

    Better news, weather and sports on former site. Easier to negotiate also. I don’t see improvements anywhere, just greater difficulty in getting what you want and what you’re accustomed to.

  • JohnCz

    Looks like the MSN Home Page is no longer in preview. At least here in S.Florida. Though I don’t see the My Apps update yet.

  • Chris

    I still get the old msn when I go to msn.com. The new one is so much better.