Microsoft (MSFT) Removes 'Bing' Name from Windows Phone Apps

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is making its Bing Windows Phone apps decidedly, well, less Bing-y.

Reports out Thursday have Microsoft's latest update to Windows Phone removing the word 'Bing' from in front of all the Bing-related apps. Bing Sports becomes just 'Sports.' Bing News = 'News.'

Otherwise, the patch didn't really provide any other updates for WP.

Is it a new direction for Microsoft? Does the shift come ahead of an expected Windows 9 lauch (sometime in 2015)? No doubt, Bing has somewhat of a negative stigma attached to it, but simply removing the name is an unusual move.

Note: The WP8 update history is here, though we don't see any Bing-specific initiatives.

Shares of Microsoft are down 1.8 percent.

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