Cortana Sports a New Look On Windows Phone 8.1

[Andy Chalk]

Cortana Sports a New Look On Windows Phone 8.1

Cortana may bear a slightly different look than the Halo heroine we've come to know and love, but she'll still call you Master Chief if you want.

The very first images of Cortana, the Siri-like voice-activated "assistant" for Microsoft's Windows Phone 8.1, have leaked out, and it's both unsurprising and a little disappointing that this iteration won't be a scantily-clad pseudo-Asari you can carry in your pocket. Instead, it will be primarily textual, not nearly as sexy but eminently more practical.

Despite the absence of the visual element, there are one or two fan-service connections to Microsoft's famed shooter franchise. As reported earlier this year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131410-Cortana-Actress-Will-Voice-Microsofts-Version-of-Siri], Cortana's voice will be provided by Jen Taylor, the actress who provides the character's voice in the Halo games; and somewhat less obvious, Cortana will be represented on Windows phones by a small blue ring - a halo - that will animate whenever it's "thinking" or speaking.

Cortana will be able to save data in a "Notebook" system that will provide access to location data, reminders, contacts and other "personal information," and will be able to take advantage of services like Bing and Foursquare, giving it functionality comparable to Google Now. It will also call you by your real name or by nicknames if you prefer, including "Master Chief" if that's your thing.

Technically, Cortana is just a working name for the software and it hasn't been confirmed that it will keep that handle in official release. It would be silly to change it now, though, especially when there are other names in far more dire need of change. Windows Phone 8.1? Surely someone at Microsoft can come up with something better than that.

Source: The Verge [http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/3/5465264/microsoft-cortana-windows-phone-screenshots]


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[Aeshi]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

 

[iblis666]

i have never really had a use for siri beyond getting her to sing but if there was a mod that let me use the cortana in game appearance instead of the little blue ring i would so buy a windows phone for my next upgrade

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

M$ has to copy Apple at every step. Except for being even more aggressive business wise in the late 80s and 90s, mimicking other companies products is basically their only known successful strategy. The top execs are blind to their own rare innovations.

 

[Avaholic03]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

Useful? Not really.
Talked about? Abso-fucking-lutely. People wouldn't shut up about Siri for months after that new iPhone came out.

And ultimately, that's what Microsoft is looking for here: to be talked about. Marketing is 99% of the battle, especially if you reach that critical mass where word-of-mouth advertising takes over and people buy crap just to find out what everyone else is talking about.

 

[Vivi22]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

Useful? Not really.
Talked about? Abso-fucking-lutely. People wouldn't shut up about Siri for months after that new iPhone came out.

And ultimately, that's what Microsoft is looking for here: to be talked about. Marketing is 99% of the battle, especially if you reach that critical mass where word-of-mouth advertising takes over and people buy crap just to find out what everyone else is talking about.

And they're looking in the wrong place as far as getting people to talk about them. You want to create buzz you don't do it by ripping off an idea your competitor released a year or two ago and no one actually gives a shit about anymore.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

I know Microsoft's mobile devices are the butt of many jokes but I think it's a good thing for them to distinguish themselves by giving their phone's voice assistant some personality. It's also smart of them to utilize their entertainment properties in other products.

Something else they might want to do is have alternative "AI" to Cortana (like Auntie Dot or the Superintendent).

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

It's good for setting reminders at least.

 

[J Tyran]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

I guess you don't drive and have Bluetooth in your car then, voice commands on Android work great when you cant really pick the phone up.

 

[Olas]

Aww... so no built in 3D holographic projector lady?

There goes 95% my entire reason for caring about this.

 

[elvor0]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

M$ has to copy Apple at every step. Except for being even more aggressive business wise in the late 80s and 90s, mimicking other companies products is basically their only known successful strategy. The top execs are blind to their own rare innovations.

You are joking right? It's voice control. Apple did not invent it, nor do they own the patent on it, they just have a very large marketing department and hype machine. Get back to me when MS mimic locking people out out of patches to the OS should your hardware fall ever so slightly behind the mark, (and I don't mean your pc will have difficulty running it, they flat out refuse certain hardware to be patched), still uses a one button mouse as standard, refuse the use of flash on their tablets and phones, have a very locked down and unopen operating system. and overcharges significantly on standardized, uncustomizable computers.

They're still playing second fiddle when it comes to anything computer related beyond the iphone, where they now play duets with android. Don't get me wrong, I love my iphone, but to acting as if /microsoft/ is the one playing follow the leader, just isn't true, apple just have an advertising campaign. MS doesn't care because even with the monstrosity that is Windows 8, people are still going to go windows when it comes to well... anything.

OT: Yeah sounds good to me. They'd be silly not to call it Cortana if they've got the VA for her on board. Heck, it's almost enough for me to upgrade to a windows phone next chance I get. Almost. I'm such a stickler for Sci Fi stuff that is unlikely to function in anyway shape or form. But Siri worked so well...right? Right?

 

[Joos]

Well, apparently all phones need to have a PA nowadays, so why not use a trademark they own that people actually like? Good move MS!

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Because Siri was such a useful and requested feature of the iPhone right?

M$ has to copy Apple at every step. Except for being even more aggressive business wise in the late 80s and 90s, mimicking other companies products is basically their only known successful strategy. The top execs are blind to their own rare innovations.

You are joking right? It's voice control. Apple did not invent it, nor do they own the patent on it, they just have a very large marketing department and hype machine. Get back to me when MS mimic locking people out out of patches to the OS should your hardware fall ever so slightly behind the mark, (and I don't mean your pc will have difficulty running it, they flat out refuse certain hardware to be patched), still uses a one button mouse as standard, refuse the use of flash on their tablets and phones, have a very locked down and unopen operating system. and overcharges significantly on standardized, uncustomizable computers.

They're still playing second fiddle when it comes to anything computer related beyond the iphone, where they now play duets with android. Don't get me wrong, I love my iphone, but to acting as if /microsoft/ is the one playing follow the leader, just isn't true, apple just have an advertising campaign. MS doesn't care because even with the monstrosity that is Windows 8, people are still going to go windows when it comes to well... anything.

That may have been an over exaggeration, but it was no joke. Every company will copy it's competition to keep up with market trends. Apple and Microsoft both jumped in the phone market, each when they felt they were ready to compete. M$ was actually first in the phone market by maybe a decade. Microsoft is just being blatant and 3 years late in this example.

I could go on and on about how M$ and Apple have copied each other and others and how M$ is trying to be the trendsetter
Apple is.(Just look at the Xerox prototype GUI the Xerox execs thought was a novelty. M$ and Apple turned that idea into Windows and MacOS.) Though, I will say at least M$ isn't buying every company that has an idea they like then act like they innovated that company's tech themselves when they themselves haven't innovated beyond OS and hardware upgrades and buying other companies for their ideas in decades. Apple even bought the guys behind Siri when those guys had plans to make Android and Windows Phone versions.

Ios is a walled garden that Apple keeps everyone else out of, like you said. M$ would be stupid to drop the customizability of Windows Phone with the current lack of market share they have. M$ certainly isn't copying the problems with Macs you mentioned, and they support old versions of Windows for at least a decade. Where as my Powermac G5 probably won't get even get security updates anymore.(It still makes a good looking stand for my gaming PC that I put in a Mac Pro case, at least.) And, my original ipad I just got for cheap to let toddlers play games on is so out of date, I have to download some apps on itunes on my pc then download it again from the purchased section of the app store on the ipad to get an old version to work with my OS. So yes, M$ doesn't copy everything Apple does and is better in many ways, but they sure do like to copy Apple when they think it might be a way to make get more market share back to their side.

 

[Fasckira]

M$ doesn't copy everything Apple does and is better in many ways, but they sure do like to copy Apple when they think it might be a way to make get more market share back to their side.

Well yes, they want to make money. They're a business.

And christ, please stop calling it "M$", it's incredibly puerile in stark contrast to the rest of your fairly reasoned out post.

 

[SKBPinkie]

Umm, what the hell are people talking about?

Siri was fantastic. It's perfect to use when driving. Also good when you're doing something else and want to set a reminder, an alarm, get directions, make calls, send messages, find nearby locations, etc. etc.

And christ, please stop calling it "M$", it's incredibly puerile in stark contrast to the rest of your fairly reasoned out post.

Fucking this.

I stop reading a post if this is in it. I don't care what point you're trying to make, but if you think that the addition of a "$" somehow makes it more valid, your opinion is automatically garbage, IMO.

It's like printing out a resume in Comic Sans.

 

[ForumSafari]

M$ has to copy Apple at every step. Except for being even more aggressive business wise in the late 80s and 90s, mimicking other companies products is basically their only known successful strategy.

As someone who uses all the big 3 OS on various computers and who doesn't even use a big-brand phone OS, stop calling it M$. It sounds stupid, particularly when Microsoft is probably the least worrying of all of the big name OS manufacturers.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I would probably get this if I had a smart phone, but alas, I still haven't felt like I need one. Plus I would probably get a Samsung phone over an iphone or the Microsoft one whenever I do make the smart phone plunge.

I think it's probably for the best that Cortana does not have an avatar for this. I and a lot of other people would probably be less inclined to use it public considering her look. XD

 

[Someone Depressing]

Becuase the Kinect was so fun. Because when using the Kinect, I'd sit back and shout at my TV to do things I can already do more easily because I have a controller in my hands, just so I can feel fancy and in-control. Well, whatever tickles someone's pickle.

This... is just stupid.