Forget Siri: Cortana is coming to Windows Phone early next year

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048...google-now-for-smart-assistant-supremacy.html

No word on whether it will have the interface and voice of the AI from the Halo series, but it would be awesome if it (she?) did. Microsoft had voice commands and search before Siri, but has fallen behind Apple and Google in terms of capability. Their search engine technology and resources could make this a killer feature if - and it's a big if - they get the natural language stuff and voice technology down right.

A non-robotic sounding digital assistant sounds sweet, but something tells me we are still 2 or 3 years away from that, even if Google Now is leaps and bounds ahead of what we had 10 years ago.

In the battle for hearts, minds, and intelligent helpfulness, Microsoft plans to wage war against Siri and Google Now with the help of the most full-featured digital assistant ever imagined.

No, not Microsoft Bob—stop your snickering—but Cortana, the faithful, blue-tinged AI that helped the Master Chief win the war against the Covenant hordes in the legendary Halo series of video games.
Early leaks of the impending Windows Phone 8.1 update have featured an app dubbed “zCortana,” and according to ZDNet, WPCentral, and The Verge, Cortana is the codename for a voice-controlled, adaptable digital assistant—kind of like Siri, but smarter.

A Windows Phone 8.1 build acquired by The Verge shows that Microsoft is already testing Cortana’s ability to pull in notifications, weather and location info, calendar details, and more, and “she” also has access to the phone’s Bluetooth capabilities.

Bing’s Satori engine—a massive knowledge database, named after the first step on the Buddhist path to enlightenment—is said to be the brains behind Cortana.

Senior Microsoft officials have been hinting that just such an assistant is inbound for a while now. In his memo announcing the sweeping Microsoft reorganization earlier this year, CEO Steve Ballmer wrote the following:

Our machine-learning infrastructure will understand people’s needs and what is available in the world, and will provide information and assistance. We will be great at anticipating needs in people’s daily routines and providing insight and assistance when they need it.

Bill Gates then talked up smart-assistant technology at a Microsoft Research Faculty Summit mere days later.

And while the first hints of Cortana are appearing in the mobile equivalent of Windows 8.1, she might not stop there. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley claims Cortana will eventually be central to the core experience uniting future versions of Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox.

So when will we see Microsoft’s Siri clone? The Verge says Cortana could be included in the Windows Phone 8.1 update rumored to land early next year, along with a much-needed notification center and other tweaks.

In the meantime, I’d recommend reading PCWorld’s in-depth look at Bing’s Satori engine to get a feel for the tech behind Cortana—or just playing a few rounds of Halo: Spartan Assault.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Nvidiaguy07

Nvidiaguy07

Platinum Member
Feb 22, 2008
2,846
4
81
I think one thing that might save windows phone/tablet is a hard push at gamers. Make an xbox phone and tablet that can play halo. I would 100% be in for one.

xbox is doing 100x better than mobile, so why not give it a try. As it stands, there is very little reason to choose windows phone over ios or android.
 
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Nvidiaguy07 said:
I think one thing that might save windows phone/tablet is a hard push at gamers. Make an xbox phone and tablet that can play halo. I would 100% be in for one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I suggested that in another thread. There's no reason not to leverage the Xbox brand a little more, which Microsoft is doing, but very slowly and with not enough resources. It's the structure of Microsoft that has worked against them in the past, as their divisions act more like individuals cells fighting for resources and control. The recent reorganization should make the devices and services people play nicer with with one another, so hopefully we get better messaging and stronger feature sets in future products.

The Xbox Live games on Windows Phone and in Windows 8 are actually pretty good titles, as is the accomplishments/points system, which came out long before Google's. But Microsoft hasn't pushed marketing enough, nor have they marketed their phones to gamers and kids, so no one is really aware of that.

Halo: Spartan Assault is a good start, but it's only one title. They need to start teasing Android and iOS users over by releasing some of their titles cross-platform, too. I'm glad Xbox Music is finally cross-platform, even if it needs more work.
 
Last edited:
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,061
1,707
126
72a28c902f0bb8953d7afa9bbd6ac6a7.png


643.png
 
3

386DX

Member
Feb 11, 2010
197
0
0
I hope Microsoft keeps the Cortana code name as the final product name and is able to get the voice actress from Halo to do the voice. I'm not just saying this as a Halo fan but really Cortana isn't a bad name to use. It's not something common that you would accidentally say the name and activate voice command. The actress has a pleasant voice and would surely please gamers/Microsoft fans. The word Cortana is part Cort for Cortex (part of the brain) and Ana for Analytics, not exactly a terrible combination for your phone AI.

Of course knowing Microsoft we'll probably get another Bing, Kin, Zune, Modern, XBone instead. Let's hope the new Microsoft is really a new Microsoft and change there pattern of terrible names.
 
Nvidiaguy07

Nvidiaguy07

Platinum Member
Feb 22, 2008
2,846
4
81
386DX said:
I hope Microsoft keeps the Cortana code name as the final product name and is able to get the voice actress from Halo to do the voice. I'm not just saying this as a Halo fan but really Cortana isn't a bad name to use. It's not something common that you would accidentally say the name and activate voice command. The actress has a pleasant voice and would surely please gamers/Microsoft fans. The word Cortana is part Cort for Cortex (part of the brain) and Ana for Analytics, not exactly a terrible combination for your phone AI.

Of course knowing Microsoft we'll probably get another Bing, Kin, Zune, Modern, XBone instead. Let's hope the new Microsoft is really a new Microsoft and change there pattern of terrible names.
Click to expand...

saw this on reddit today. http://youtu.be/1cX4t5-YpHQ

im in disbelief that this is actually a real thing. rip ballmer
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
The Cortana from the game was kind of sassy at times. It would be funny if that carried over to the phone assistant.
 
Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
I haven't heard the supposed new and improved Siri, but on my wife's iPhone 5 it has an annoying, grainy, robotic voice. Google Now sounds way more natural.

If MS can hire the same actress that would be neat. Cortana is also not a bad name at all.
 
maevinj

maevinj

Senior member
Nov 20, 2004
928
11
81
RandomFool

RandomFool

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2001
3,913
0
71
www.loofmodnar.com
I love this idea, we'll see how it's executed. I really hope they continue calling it Cortana and don't decide to call it Microsoft Bing Personal Assistant Data Retriever or Xbox Voice Control Personality for Window Phone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom