1. You can access Cortana now from the lock screen of your Android phone.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/27/microsoft-brings-cortana-to-the-android-lock-screen/
2. Even better, you can replace Google Assistant with Cortana as your default personal assistant (jabber buddy).
https://www.slashgear.com/how-to-replace-google-assistant-with-cortana-on-your-android-phone-19488950/
Why?
1. Cortana will sync your info, notifications, documents, appointments and stuff between your Windows 10 PC, Surface tablet and your Android phone.
2. Stick it to Goog. Voice search on Bing on Goog's own OS.
3. Silo. Google is going to know a heck of a lot about you because you are using Android, so fragment the info they get as much as possible by cutting Google Assistant out of the loop.
4. Or maybe you think Cortana is hot.
5. Maybe Google Assistant annoys you.
6. There is also a Cortana for iOS. Kinda limited but it might help you share info if you use iOS.
Also, something to think about, Alexa and Cortana are joining forces in the future.
Does anyone use cortana? One of the first jobs I do on a new windows system is to shut it up (whilst removing a load of other crapware/crapfeatures).
Not sure Google assistant is any more useful either (I've yet to find a single thing to do with it that is useful), but I can't imagine deliberately installing any assistant.
Quote from: Rooftop on September 20, 2017, 12:11:45 PM
I've yet to find a single thing to do with it that is useful
Maybe it's an age thing as I struggle, but my 12 year old uses it all the time. She actually takes the mickey out of me when typing away "Dad what are you doing, that's so last year!"
>use
Therein lies the rub, although I suspect we are not the target market. I think the market is for younger people than us.
I think I used Siri maybe twice in 2.5 years. Once was to call someone while driving so it was handy, but not enough to make it a must have feature. The other time was while stumbling around a tree nursery, couldn't type and walk, and I had Siri search the web for info on various cultivars of trees.
I've not activated Google Assistant yet on my android phone and probably won't.
Installing Cortana, it has the same problem as trying to get people to change the default search engine on their browser only on steroids. I can see people who once had a Windows phone wanting the option, or people heavily invested in the Win 10 echo system with multiple laptops and Surface devices.
It is interesting how deeply MS has gotten to imbed itself within the Android os. Anyway, it is nice to have other options besides Google Assistant on your phone.
>anyone
Here, probably none.
>whilst removing a load of other crapware/crapfeatures
>we are not the target market
Remember the power of the default. I'd bet Cortana has modest penetration in the general populace.
One thing this demonstrates is that a OEM could fork off their own version of Android and still equip it with a personal assistant by default using Cortana. I'm not sure if conditions are ripe for that yet, but it would sure beat trying to make a Assistant from scratch like Samsung is doing.
Aside:
You can kinda tell Samsung really wants to differentiate its phone products from both naked Android and iOS, but they are having a hard time doing the first because Android comes with so much Google baggage.
>Google baggage
Plus Samsung has *plenty* of crapware baggage of its own. I like Samsung, but will probably just go for a basic android smartphone next go-round. I just don't use it enough to warrant having a premium phone.
> can kinda tell Samsung really wants to differentiate
Amazon Fire has done a good job of gating android for its purposes. Yeah, a few geeks on the fringe have added the G Play store, but you & I know that the masses are just running it as-is. Besides, the Amz app store is decent.
> Amazon Fire
I'm thinking it's just a matter of time before Amz comes out with a phone again. They seem to be quietly building all the cloud infrastructure for it, photo storage, cloud storage, App Store, talking assistant, marketing outlet with increadable eyeballs, their own music and video streaming stores and their own OS.
Make low to mid price phones, build both Alexa and Cortana in, good speed, battery and screen and go. Add instant coupons when you walk in a Whole Foods. Bang.
>Add instant coupons when you walk in a Whole Foods. Bang.
On snap. Great points, they really are poised to jump on this.