Cortana

Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update will include Cortana, a personal digital assistant designed to rival Siri and Google Now. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge how Cortana looks and operates, replacing the built-in Bing search functionality on Windows Phone 8.1. While the feature is named after the Halo game series, Continue Reading →

Microsoft has been in a state of “shut up and ship” with Windows Phone for more than a year now. While the company has released a few minor updates to Windows Phone 8, its feature set hasn’t changed significantly from when Microsoft first introduced the mobile OS in October 2012. The software giant refuses to Continue Reading →

Microsoft invested $15 million in Foursquare Labs Inc., forging a partnership that will help Windows-powered phones offer restaurant and entertainment suggestions to consumers on the move. The investment, confirmed in an interview by Foursquare Chief Executive Officer Dennis Crowley, is part of a funding round from late last year that valued New York-based Foursquare at Continue Reading →

The geeks of mobile, and especially the Windows Phone fans, are eagerly awaiting Microsoft’s Cortana voice-controlled assistant. That’s not only because it will finally be an answer to Google Now and Apple’s Siri, so their friends with iPhones or Android handsets will have one less reason to brag, but also because Microsoft is big in Continue Reading →

Windows Phone 8.1, launching sometime early next year, will finally feature a notification center and a Siri-like personal assistant app, helping the OS catch up a bit to the rest of the market. The notification center is nice, but the big addition is Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant app. Microsoft has been testing Cortana for several Continue Reading →

Microsoft is preparing to ship its Windows Phone 8.1 update with two significant changes: a notification center and a Siri-like personal assistant. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is currently beta testing copies of Windows Phone 8.1 internally, with plans to fully detail its features at the Build Continue Reading →

When I blogged recently about Microsoft’s plans on the operating-systems front following Windows 8.1, I mentioned a couple of “spring 2015” releases. It turns out the Microsoft codename for that wave of deliverables is “Threshold.” A couple of my contacts have confirmed that Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson recently mentioned the Threshold codename in Continue Reading →

One of the best parts of Android is Google Now, the world’s best task manager. One of Apple’s most innovative features in recent years has been Siri. So what does Microsoft have up its sleeve to compete? Meet Cortana, a Halo-inspired personal assistant, coming… eventually… to Windows Phone. As Windows Phone moves toward its “Blue” Continue Reading →

Back in June, screen shots of an early Windows Phone operating system build leaked (via a Lumia phone allegedly purchased on eBay). At that time, next-to-no attention was paid to an app, listed as “zCortana,” that was on the phone. But that Cortana app (with the “z” indicating it was a test build) is central Continue Reading →