Apparently Microsoft's Bing App for iPhone, released on Dec. 16 and loaded with functionality such as voice search, wasn't fully baked: in a Dec. 17 posting on its official blog, the Bing team highlighted a few bugs that have apparently been cropping up:

1. Using voice search outside the U.S. crashes the app. According to Microsoft, this has something to do with "the region the phone is set to," and a fix (once it comes) will be automatically ported onto users' devices. Temporary Workaround: Instead of waiting for the patch--Microsoft claims they'll have an update about the situation "in the next few days," but who knows--go to 'Settings' -> 'General' -> 'International' and change your Region Format to "United States."

2. Non-functionality with First Generation iPod Touch. The Bing app, apparently, supports the second-generation iPod Touch, but not so much the first generation. Microsoft is apparently working on adding support for the latter, but announced no timeframe. Temporary Workaround: None, unless you upgrade to the next-generation iPod Touch.

(I've been an iPod Touch owner for nearly two years, and now I feel's it's time to come out and say it: Wi-Fi on the device is basically useless, because it depends on unsecured hotspots in order to achieve any sort of connectivity. Even in a place like Manhattan, where any given coffee shop or street corner may have two-dozen overlapping hotspots, they're all locked down. I'm starting to take a certain bleak amusement in newly downloaded Apps on my iPod Touch asking if I want to connect to the Internet, or Facebook. Sure, I want to. In the same impossible-dream way that I want a Bugatti Veyron.)

3. No search results outside the U.S. This seems like the big one. "While there was a brief period [in] which the Bing iPhone app was being offered in international markets[,] at this time international availability has been suspended," says the official Bing blog. "We would like to apologize for the inconvenience and we hope to expand our support and availability of the app in other regions in future versions." Temporary Workaround: Apparently, it's the same as for voice search: go to 'Settings' and change your Region Format to "United States."

I'm interested if anyone out there has downloaded the Bing App for iPhone yet, and if they're experiencing any of the issues above--or any other bugs not mentioned.