Google Improves Movie Listings

Google has done a few things to beef up its presentation of movie listings. The Google Blog explains the catalog of the new features:

• Comprehensive movie pages . . . Our new detailed layout brings together all the basic information you need with a plot synopsis, trailer, reviews and photos in the same page.
• Genre filters: The new movie pages also give you new ways to explore films by genre and find one you’re in the mood for . . .
• Map view: After you’ve chosen a movie, the new map view shows you nearby theaters playing that exact film. You no longer need to do a separate search to find out where you’re going.

Unfortunately the Map View above doesn’t offer Google’s customary “search nearby” capability.

This is a richer and cleaner display than you get at Yahoo! or Bing, which surprised me given that the Bing results for the touch-screen mobile devices are very nice.

Mobile:

PC:

Curiously also I was asked to register for Windows Live when I clicked the link at the top. The new MSN does a better job than Bing right now for movies, although Bing refers people to the old MSN when one clicks through.

These kinds of little changes, such as Google made above, can be meaningful to people and reinforce loyalty and usage.