Microsoft jumped into the personal digital assistant game a bit later than Apple and Google. It only unveiled Cortana back at Build 2014 in early April but it now appears set to make up for lost time. Cortana stars in a new ad that features the Nokia Lumia 635 (which is coming to Canada later this year) and shows itself to be much more versatile than Apple’s Siri assistant is.
Say hello to Cortana, your new personal assistant. Cortana will remind you to leave early to beat traffic and help you get to your destination on time, will remind you that you need milk when passing the grocery store, and will remind you to say happy birthday when your mom calls.
Whereas Cortana responds “Sure thing,” to a number of prompts Siri can only answer back with “Oh no, I can’t do that!” or“I can’t do that either.” By the end of the ad, Siri is left to enviously admit that “Now, that is a smartphone.”
Cortana will make its way to current Windows Phone 8 devices with the Windows Phone 8.1 update. It will initially only be available in the U.S. (and perhaps Canada). It is also preloaded on the Nokia Lumia 635 which comes with Windows Phone 8.1 right out of the box.