Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Cortana learns Chinese with the software giant releasing its Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, the company disclosed today.
Also included in the update Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) released are beta versions of Cortana for other countries such as the U.K. Furthermore, Cortana is also being rolled out in Canada, India and Australia with this Windows Phone update.
According to Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Joe Belfiore, the Chinese version of the personal assistant gets some special features.
“The huge Chinese market has a bunch of different expectations and needs than the US or other countries—so while Cortana (nicknamed ‘Xiao Na’) generally works the same way in China as the US and the rest of the world, China did get some ‘special features’.”
Belfiore added that the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) team in China have made special features just for the country. Cortana, he wrote, gets an alternative form with a different visual appearance, animations, and sounds.
Furthermore, Cortana now supports Chinese (Mandarin) whether for voice, text, and speech and gets particular recommendations for Chinese consumers. These recommendations include “air quality information in weather cards, information about driving restrictions, and the ability to track local TV shows and celebrities.” Furthermore, Cortana can find English words in the Bing Dictionary “for people looking to brush up on their English,” the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) employee added.
With the update to Windows Phone, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also launched Live Folders which gives users the option to organize apps in folders on their Start screens. Furthermore, an update to Xbox Music has also been rolled out which the company promises to give better performance. Other updates that come with Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 are Store Live Tile, SMS merge and forwarding, Apps Corner, and enhanced privacy and security.
Disclosure: None
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