In a concerted effort to turn its mobile fortunes around, Microsoft seems to be taking the logical step of hand-picking some of the best features of both Android and iOS, amounting to an increasingly exciting Windows Phone 8.1 update. We've already heard that a new Swype-like keyboard will enhance the typing experience on the Redmond's mobile ecosystem, and following yesterday's video demo of the new Action Center notifications system, it has today become apparent that Cortana, the voice assistant feature set to debut with WP 8.1, will combine some of the strengths of both Google Now and Apple's Siri.
Windows Phone 8.1 is due to hit the scene very soon, and judging by the recent spate of leaks and information regarding the software update, we have some significant improvements to look forward to. Following on from yesterday's report that a revamped, Swype-like keyboard would offer dramatic improvements as far as typing is concerned, the new notification center, dubbed 'Action Center,' has been given a video demonstration.
It's a big year for Windows Phone, with the smartphone market hotter than ever before and Nokia reportedly on the verge of making Android a part of its family with the Nokia X Normandy smartphone. Microsoft's mobile version of Windows has long been rumored to be on the verge of becoming a real competitor for iOS and Android, and 2014 needs to be the year that Redmond puts Windows Phone into overdrive.
Samsung already took a stab at the Windows Phone 8 market with the ATIV range, and is now back with a bigger, badder model for Windows Phone 8.1. According to a snap posted by the ever-reliable Evleaks Twitter handle, the device is codenamed "Huron" (model SM-W750V), and as well as looking very much similar to the Galaxy S4 (as the ATIV S rather did the Galaxy S3), it will also be carried by Verizon Wireless in the United States.
There's already little doubt that Microsoft will be changing things up with Windows Phone 8.1, the next update to the company's somewhat undervalued and under-adopted mobile operating system. With the war against Apple and Google being lost, Microsoft knows it needs to make changes.
Voice assistants such as Siri have certainly risen to prominence over the past couple of years, and many companies beside Apple have tried to implement similar technology into their products. Microsoft, fresh from its purchase of Nokia's devices and services division, is reportedly plotting to do exactly that in constructing a voice assistant for Windows Phone currently codenamed 'Cortana.'
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