From the blog post on the Windows Live Search team's blog entitled Search on the Go with Live Search for Mobile Beta we learn

we’re proud to announce three new ways to search on the go:

Mobile Software – Download an application to your phone for local search, maps, driving directions, and live traffic information in a faster, richer and more interactive user interface. It's the best way to search from your phone.

 

Mobile Browsing - Access maps and directions directly on your phone’s browser. Simply enter mobile.live.com/search into your phone’s address bar and select Map. Choose from the scopes of Local, Web, Map, News and Spaces and get Live Search from your mobile device.

Text Messages (SMS) - If you don’t have a data plan, you can simply send a text message to 95483 (WLIVE) with a query like “Toys Chicago, IL” or “Coffee 90210” and you’ll immediately receive a text message reply with the nearest business listings with address and phone numbers.

This is a pretty sweet release and I can't wait to get it on my AudioVox SMT 5600. So far, the release has been favorably reviewed by those that have tried it including Gizmodo which has an article entitled Windows Live Search For Mobile vs. Google Maps Mobile which ends on the following note

If you're using a Windows Mobile phone, we'd definitely recommend you try out Windows Live Search. The Java-based Google Maps is just too buggy and slow, not to mention clunky, to be useful to us.

Not bad, eh? I thought Google was the king of innovative search products. :) Speaking of innovation and Microsoft, there is a debate between Robert Scoble and Dave Winer in a recent Wall Street Journal article Is Microsoft Driving Innovation Or Playing Catch-Up With Rivals? which has both bloggers going head to head on whether Microsoft is innovative or not. Interesting read.