Microsoft Blasts through Competition with New Ideas for Smartphones
An arms race has started in the realm of smartphones, and Apple may no longer be the top competitor. At its Build conference last week, Microsoft introduced new innovations which have grabbed the attention of the industry.
A leak last month, which has been confirmed by Microsoft, announced the introduction of the digital assistant Cortana, which is reportedly more advanced than Siri or Google Now. Unlike its competition, Cortana becomes “smarter” the more the user interacts with the application, and can be used to gather very specific information. For example, users can ask “Facebook, what’s happening with so and so?” and Cortana will search Facebook and gather the information for the user. The digital assistant can remind users of appointments, when to call a friend back and can provide travel status updates. Although new to smartphones, Cortana already has an established reputation from the Xbox game Halo. The gaming console is a popular product and is also owned by Microsoft.
In addition to Cortana, Microsoft announced the introduction of dual-SIM support. This initiative will give users the option of switching both their personal and business phones to one mobile device, which can help decrease the amount of roaming charges while traveling abroad.
Along with dual-SIM and Cortana, Microsoft introduced its Office programs to the iPad. These recent initiatives have renewed the company’s competitive edge, and so far 2014 has proven to be an exciting year for Microsoft.
Regarding the future of smartphones, it seems that moving to virtualization and adopting “the cloud” is a likely possibility. Virtualization provides users with easy access to their personal or business data from any mobile device. With a reliable and secure provider, virtualization is a convenient tool because it protects the user from data loss.
Looking to switch to the cloud?
If so, contact Stratosphere Networks, and let us see what we can do for you. We provide a broad range of IT services, including: virtualization, 24/7 remote monitoring, proactive desktop and server management, backup and recovery, to name a few. For more information, call us today at at (877) 599-3999, or click here to use our contact form.
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