• Diyan
• On September 12, 2013

It seems that Microsoft has become really engaged in improving its Windows Phone mobile platform. First, they bought the Nokia’s Product Division unit, which according to many specialists is a clear sign that Microsoft will try to compete more effectively with iOS and Google, who already have their own hardware divisions. One of the major issues for Microsoft in the near future is to improve the mobile ecosystem, so we can expect new apps and more developers working closely with Microsoft. The company is currently testing a couple of new features expected to arrive with the Windows Phone 8.1 a.k.a Blue in 2014. Probably you already know about the notification center, but the personal assistant codenamed Cortana is surely something new for you.

ZDNet has noticed that Microsoft is developing a Siri-like personal assistant. Named “Cortana” after the popular Halo character, the assistant will further extend the interaction between a user and the Windows Phone device. It will be a step beyond the current simple voice commands available in Windows Phone 8 – Cortana will be smart, the system will learn and improve.

The current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has already mentioned that his company is going to work on improving the services offered by the mobile platform. Cortana has already been spotted on some early leaked screenshots of Windows Phone 8.1 which is a proof that the personal assistant is real and you can expect it next year. According to the sources, Microsoft will try to pull in all valuable information like the Weather, Calendar events, Notifications and other data into a single interface. The future interface will include voice assistant, location information and Bluetooth control. Thanks to The Verge, you can see some early screenshots of Cortana bellow: