• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 3, 2011

Both Microsoft and Google announced changes to platforms Wednesday. While both might seem like minor tweaks, the modifications could influence market share long term. September comScore stats suggest Google holds 65.3% share of the search market; followed by Bing with 14.7% share. Combined with Yahoo's 15.5%, the Microsoft-Yahoo alliance holds slightly more than 30%.

Microsoft updated its Bing search engine to serve up results and displays on smartphones and tablet computers similar to desktop in a move to gain market share on mobile devices. The change, which relies on HTML5, makes Bing compatible with mobile applications on Apple's iPhone and devices running Google's Android operating system. The company said Wednesday it also continues to work on similar updates for BlackBerry and Windows Phone platforms. The update also includes maps and list split view, one-stop deal shopping, video features, and transit real-time information.

Google made a change to how it serves JavaScript that renders the +1 button. This change does not require companies to change the code on its Web site. The publisher preview group will see the change to test the process on a handful of Web sites and make sure the +1 button functions properly.

On Tuesday, Google rolled out a new version of Reader, complete with Google+ integration. The new version of Google Reader, the company's RSS feed reading application, enables users to share items to Google+ social network. The tool offers the ability to +1 a feed item, replacing Facebook "Like" with an option to share it with circles on Google+, which replaces the "Share" button too.