The first video of Microsoft’s digital, Siri-like, assistant for its smartphones has leaked.
Although the clip has no dialogue, it is fairly easy to make out what’s going on.
We see the user create an account on what appears to be a pre-release build of a Windows 8.1 Phone and then set up the “quiet hours” option that ensures whether or not Cortana can bother you (it lets you pick which types of notifications are allowed).
Consequently, the major difference between Microsoft’s assistant and those of rivals Apple and Google is that Cortana asks the user a set of questions before it can be useful, unlike Siri or Google Now which ask questions after the fact.
In this sense the service brings to mind the customised OS in Spike Jonze’s Oscar winning film Her, which sees its protagonist fall in love with a similar service built to match his personality.
Could this also mark the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Windows Phone users and their digital assistants? Only time will tell.
Source: Unleash the Phones, The Next Web
