Over the next few months, Microsoft is planning to take down several MSN branded mobile apps from its current portfolio of software services. As a matter of fact, Microsoft is already in the process of deploying notices to users of its MSN Health & Fitness, MSN Travel, and MSN Food & Drink apps for the Android, iOS, and Windows mobile operating systems about its intention of shutting down some apps.
This latest development comes in the wake of the selling off of Microsoft’s Bing map data collection resources to Uber, which happened just a week ago. Moreover, the company also made a move to get out of the display advertising business, although it is still in the search ad business. Microsoft has even begun ceding the controls of its advertising teams from its Applications and Services Group (where the Bing search engine was developed) to the chief operating officer Kevin Turner. This decision made it to several headlines as the company was compelled to let go of more than a thousand employees.
As reported by Neowin, Microsoft will be shutting down its MSN Food & Drink mobile app and its MSN Travel mobile app starting on September 28th of this year. As for the MSN Health & Fitness mobile app, it will be gone for good beginning November 1st of this year.
Fans of MSN branded mobile apps may take comfort in the knowledge that Microsoft is not completely dropping all of its MSN services. The company will still be retaining support for News, Weather, and Sports and Money, among others. Microsoft is even planning to make these mobile apps available together with the upcoming launch of Windows 10. Of course, these apps will also likely be available to other mobile platforms as well, such as the Android and iOS mobile operating systems.
But some users may be wondering though -- moving forward, where can they access those content that were previously available via the discontinued apps? As explained by a Microsoft spokesperson, those content will be made available in other MSN services, e.g. on the MSN home page.
Also, Microsoft will no longer be providing support for its PhotoSynth mobile app. For those not familiar with this app, it is basically a tool that allows users to stitch several pictures together in order to produce panoramic shots, or synth different shots to display multiple sides, details, and angles of a single object. This cool app was developed by Microsoft’s now defunct Live Labs. The company has not revealed the exact date of the app’s discontinuation, but has already begun instructing users to remove their pictures and data out of the app. However, the PhotoSynth cloud service will be kept.
