Category: Microsoft Cortana

Amazon and Microsoft have been teaming up and it is for the benefit of end users.  The Seattle based eRetailer (and now grocery store owner) has announced a new skill for Amazon Alexa, the company’s personal assistant, that will allow you to access Microsoft Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant, from your Amazon Echo.

It may sound a little confusing but it is a big win for the some 145 million active monthly users of Cortana.  Essentially, it works like this:  If you have an Amazon Echo, you can say “Alexa, Open Cortana” and then give Cortana a command.  This will allow you to access specific information that you have in Cortana but don’t necessarily want to have to duplicate in Alexa if you are a marginal Echo user.

Eventually, both Amazon and Microsoft want to get the integration to the point where users won’t have to specifically call out Cortana but rather the Echo device itself determine which personal assistant can provide the best answer on-the-fly and leverage it automatically.

Microsoft’s personal assistant, Microsoft Cortana, has a new update rolling out in the beta channel this morning.  The new beta build is version 2.9.3 and while it doesn’t bring new features, it does bring a lot of performance improvements and stability to the app.

The update outlines three key areas of focus in the release notes:

• Improved app performance
• Stabilized the app
• Fixed several crash bugs

While that isn’t overly exciting, the fact is that Microsoft has been working pretty hard on getting Cortana solid for Android.  Having tested out this new beta build this morning, I can say it is much faster than the current stable channel build and seems to be far more reliable.

Microsoft Cortana, the company’s digital assistant, has been available on Android for some time now and its latest update brings an exponential improvement in usability to the app.  The new build, version 2.8.0 for those keeping score, allows you to configure Cortana so that it is your default assistant app instead of Google Assistant.  It means that you can now long press the Home button on your phone and it will pop-up Cortana so you can ask questions directly to it.

The new feature in Cortana is not enabled by default so if you want to use it as your Assistant, you will have to configure you phone to do so.  Just go into Settings and use the search feature to find Assist.  This will open up your defaults page on your phone (where you set your home launcher, browser, etc) and you will see a section Assist & voice input.  Tap it then tap on Assist app.  Now you can change it from Google to Cortana.

Microsoft Cortana, the company’s digital assistant, has been updated for Android with the ability to interact with it from your lock screen.  Two weeks ago, Cortana was updated for Android adding the ability to have it on your lock screen.  From there, you could access your calendar, news and other information.  What you could not do, however, was interact with it by voice.  That has now changed.

With the version 2.6 update, which is rolling out now, you can ask Cortana questions just as you can when your device is unlocked and you tap the Cortana button.  You can ask the service a question, set a reminder for a task or event from your lock screen.

A new beta of Microsoft Cortana, the personal assistant AI from the Redmond company, is out for Android and with it comes a pretty nice new feature.  In the beta, you can allow Cortana to have access to your Lock Screen.  Why is that a big deal?  You could ask Cortana for information without having to actually unlock your phone.  It appears to function in nearly an identical way to Google Assistant in the Google Pixel Launcher or the Google Now Launcher.

Cortana, the AI character from the Halo series, is perhaps the most forgotten of the AI assistance out there, behind Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant.  But it is a solid performer and is integrated into Windows 10 and in Windows 10 Phone.