Microsoft is Building a Cortana App for iOS and Android

[dgstorm]

Here's some very slick news in the field of digital assistants (aka budding AI overlords). Microsoft announced they are planning to offer a stand alone Cortana app and will make it available for both Android and iOS. On top of that, Microsoft is working toward taking Cortana to the next level by improving her functions with their artificial intelligence research project called "Einstein."

The reason they call the project "Einstein" is because of the way Cortana is meant to work more proactively using your relative position and what time it is. Here's a quote with a few more details,

The key to Cortana's success will be knowing where a user is, what time it is, and what they are trying to do. Albert Einstein's work on the relationship between space and time gave rise to Microsoft's secret project name, said Horvitz.

"Einstein was brilliant about space and time," he said. "It’s using brilliance about space and time generally in our agents."

Here at HQ we have to applaud Microsoft for this move. By becoming platform agnostic, they are making themselves useful and available everywhere, which will build brand recognition and loyalty. It's actually quite brilliant.

According to the report, the Cortana app for Android and iOS should be available in the fall of this year when Microsoft launches Windows 10 officially.

Source: Reuters

 

[smalltowngirl13]

I think this is a good move for Microsoft and the end user ...

 

[johnomaz]

I'll install it and give it a whirl.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I'll give it a try as well, but it'll be a hard sell. I'm entrenched in Google services. I love them and they love me. If I could get more personality and still use Google instead of Bing, I'd love it.

I like that Google Now is rather unobtrusive, but I like the idea of having that "assistant" that you can kinda make silly conversation with, rather than a robot that spits out relevant information.

Maybe it'll change my mind when I try it. As I said, I will definitely try it.

 

[gadgetrants]

Probably the number one reason I jumped on the Microsoft Band on release day was that it plays so nicely with Android. For nearly every feature on the Band (except two important ones) that is available to WinPhone owners, I can do exactly the same thing with my HTC One. In particular, the Microsoft Health app is virtually device-agnostic. Adding Cortana would likely put me on even footing with anyone who has the Band and a Windows Phone -- it's a very smart move for Microsoft.

-Matt

 

[liftedplane]

I'm definitely looking forward to this, I enjoy google now, but it's just to... information heavy. there's no personality in google now.

and as others have mentioned, being platform agnositc is definitely the right thing for microsoft to do.

 

[cereal killer]

Cortana is pretty awesome, you folks will enjoy 'her'. It's a really nice departure from Google Now. It feels like a true personal assistant with some personality

 

[Mustang02]

I'd love to get cortana on my phone. All those years of playing halo and having her with me was comforting.

 

[thunderbolt_nick]

I'd love to get cortana on my phone. All those years of playing halo and having her with me was comforting.

She does bring Master Chief good luck...

Anyways, Cortana is sweet. I mean we've already seen Voice Assistants on Android like Dragon. I'm curious what kind of integration she'll be able to do. My requested feature: keyboard integration for easier speech-to-text.

 

[gadgetrants]

On a bit of a tangent...I'm still kinda puzzled that I can say "OK Google" and then follow up with all kinds of craziness like "Remind me to buy milk" or "Text Mary" or "Call John" and yet I can't say (relatively) simple things like "How much battery life do I have left?" or "When will I arrive home?" or "Please turn off wifi." It seems strange to me that voice recognition is so far along, and yet Google/Android hasn't seen fit yet to let us use voice control for a variety of mundane hands-free tasks.

Or is it there and I missed something?

-Matt