Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Bing Wins NORAD Santa Tracker

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been campaigning lately with Web search users by putting forth a Bing vs. Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Search comparison, trying to convince users to switch to Bing because of supposedly faster and more relevant search results. This holiday season, however, Bing has apparently won a battle over Google that perhaps it hadn’t counted on – and it didn’t necessarily have to do with search.

Just tracking. A red-suited jolly fellow, that is. And this could be a small Christmas boost for Microsoft investors like billionaire David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital.

GREENLIGHT CAPITAL David Einhorn

An annual tradition is about to start again, as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) begins its Santa Tracker for the good boys and girls who check on the progress of St. Nick.  However, as a surprise – and with apparently no real announcement or explanation – the Santa Tracker is now using Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bing Maps application to run its Santa Tracker, ditching a longtime relationship with the Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Maps feature.

This development is interesting, since Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been posting a very minority share in the marketplace  compared to Google Maps. A recent survey in the U.K., for example, said that Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has 89 percent market share while Microsoft Bing was listing at only 4 percent.

While Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the new official home of the NORAD Santa Tracker for Christmas Eve,  Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is apparently pivoting to post its own tracking application, complete with a Santa Hotline. So even when it comes to the one and only Kris Kringle there seems to be some competition – so which one will Santa watchers use Monday evening? Will hey use the new official NORAD site now on Bing by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), or the new Google-created Maps feature? It may be hard for users to tell or understand the difference, and it might be questionable whether Santa-trackers will be more loyal to NORAD or to Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of the day.

But when it comes to accurately following Santa, that may be the more important factor.