Cortana, Microsoft’s response to Siri
Siri, the digital assistant and well-known feature for the iOS software, has a new competitor now. As a leak has revealed, Microsoft has been working behind-the-scenes to produce its own version of a digital assistant for its Windows Phone users. Cortana, as the feature has been named, is reportedly a mix between Siri and Google Now. According to IT News, Cortana will pull in data from Bing and Foursquare to deliver contextual information. It will use and provide data based on the user’s interactions with the assistant. Also, Cortana will have the ability to customize information such as flight information, reminders, contact information and call the user by his/her preferred name.
Additionally, as IT News reports, Microsoft has been in the process of developing a full-blown knowledge engine named Satori. Microsoft aims to make Satori the “world’s largest repository of knowledge” with Cortana as an extension, which will refer to Satori for information. This spring, Windows Phone users can expect an update with these fresh features included.
Although Cortana is a little late to the digital scene, its personalized attributes and convenience could be the spark Microsoft needs to compete in the league with iPhones and Androids. Although a smartphone with exclusive apps including Bejeweled Live+ and Trivial Pursuit, Windows Phones are allegedly suffering from the “app gap”. Many consumers are wary of making the switch to a Windows Phone because the apps they heavily rely on are not available.
Bryan Biniak, Nokia’s Vice President and partner with Microsoft, believes that Microsoft needs to expand its tactics to reach a larger user base. “We are trying to evolve the cultural thinking [at Microsoft] to say ‘time is of the essence,’” Biniak said.
Cortana will reportedly be in the next Windows update available to users this spring.
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