Microsoft Pits Cortana Against Siri in New Ad Showcasing Contextual Reminders, Traffic Alerts

[trigf]

I don't think Microsoft is in any position to be making fun of Siri, when it arrived almost three years before Cortana. Back when they were still trying to piece together the shattered dreams of Windows Phone 7.

 

[johnnyturbouk]

As much as I dislike Microsoft and dig apple, they have a point! I never use Siri it just feels cumbersome and for medical jargon ie searching safari it completely fails. Even for simple thing like set reminders, text message dictation it does not work too well. I recently tried the Google Talk on my nexus 7 (just sold my ipad 3 + waiting to get an ioad air 2) and it us excellent Google search us so fast and so accurate. Pity as I detest android os and it is no where as near as integrated as ios; I have iPhone, rmbp, ipad etc.

Wish apple could make Siri as useful and accurate as Google

 

[taptic]

Since you're in the business of correcting people you should correct yourself in regards to Cortana's voice. Did you see on the ad that it said simulation? It does say screens but I've heard Cortana in person and she certainly doesn't sound nearly that good. This is a Microsoft ad after all. Of course they're going to fake it a bit to trump Apple.

All I said was it sounds better than Siri. Which is true. I never said it sounded as amazing as Microsoft is portraying it to be. I have heard Cortana in person as well, and yes, it sounds better.

So, since I'm in the business of correcting people, that'll be $23.47.

 

[6836838]

I'd love to watch the video, but it doesn't work in Safari now!

 

[polterbyte]

I respect Apple´s decision to keep quite all this time and not answer the avalanche of ads mocking Apple. But, God, I wish for once Apple shut their mouths with cool comeback ads, which I´m pretty sure would be hilarious.

BTW Cortana sounds pretty nice, Apple should hire Scarlett Johansson for Siri 2.0

"One should never wrestle with pigs. All one gets is to be muddy, and besides the pig likes it."

 

[SBG88]

Hard to imagine how bad Siri was before Apple bought it.

 

[RockSpider]

I'd love to watch the video, but it doesn't work in Safari now!

That's funny

----------

I've tried using Siri a few times, absolutely useless, Google Now is great. Will probably try a Windows phone next time and see how Cortana stacks up, much better than Siri I have no doubt.

 

[HenryDJP]

All I said was it sounds better than Siri. Which is true. I never said it sounded as amazing as Microsoft is portraying it to be. I have heard Cortana in person as well, and yes, it sounds better.

So, since I'm in the business of correcting people, that'll be $23.47.

Pay that amount to yourself for trying.

 

[laurim]

I have "Hey, Siri" activated on my phone and it's kind of funny when people talking on the tv randomly activate it. All of a sudden Siri tries to look up something the person on tv said. BTW- I have mine set on British male voice so I probably should call him Cyril instead He doesn't understand me when I say "aluminum" in my American pronunciation, lol.

 

[0x100]

Ok, this one was really amusing. I love it.

Apple needs to step up their game, Microsoft has come out with great ads recently while Apple just got bigger!
Big Apple anyone?

 

[Michael Goff]

Well I agree. I wouldn't call Microsoft a loser, because they're not. But I disagree in regards to them innovating. What innovations? The Surface Pro 3 has no real innovations, it just has good specs. I don't see any innovations coming from Microsoft. Sounds like you're suggesting that Apple doesn't innovate? If so I wholeheartedly disagree with you. Almost every tech company ends up going the direction Apple goes.

The design of the fan is actually slightly innovative.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Sometimes I wonder whether Apple is just intentionally delaying the development of additional Siri functionality so they can shove it intolater software releases or whether that team lacks any sort of innovation at all.

 

[J. Jizzle]

Even with the addition of Cortana isn't Microsoft/Windows Phone still in dead last place in the Cell Phone market???

 

[akm3]

What do you think: MICROSOFT reintroduces the 'I'm a Mac, I'm a PC' ads, except now the Mac is king and being a jerk to everyone and the PC is humble and ...

no it still would fail.

 

[kagharaht]

Wow. Looking at this ad, you would think MS is lightyears ahead of Apple with this technology. So why are the sales of MS products featuring this Siri Killing feature is tanking so badly?

 

[sparky08]

Another competitor pulling ahead.

C'mon Apple. You've gotten so far behind.

 

[thirteen1031]

In regards to the comments about updating Siri...don't know about anyone else, but since OS8 I've found Siri faster, more responsive, and less apt to make mistakes about what I'm saying.

Something was fine tuned between 0S7 and 0S8. But then, maybe I just don't use Siri enough to realize what I'm missing?

And the male American voice I like to use sounds pretty smooth and non-robotic to me.

 

[0x100]

.

 

[genovelle]

The big problem isn't the Siri/Cortana voice issue. It's that contextual reminders suck in iOS! I can't put in a reminder on an iPhone to tell me to get milk when I'm near any supermarket. I can't even have it remind me to buy an iPhone case when I'm near any Apple Store! It will only remind you for a specific, physical, single location. Idiotic and 90% useless. I complained to the "Geniuses" about this just weeks after location reminders came out and still no updates. But Cortana can do this so what's Apple's problem?

Odd. I use my geofence reminders all the time on my iPhone. I have actually used it to remind me to buy a charger when I went to the Apple Store.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Gotta admit, they have a point... Siri has stagnated a lot.

Stagnated? More like rigor mortis.

 

[allanfries]

Used windows for almost 20 years. So lust don't care what form, new package/features, etc windows anything has. Just not interested!! Thx.

 

[wikiverse]

Wow, Cortina's speech technology does actually sound pretty impressive. Much less "robotic" sounding than either Siri or Google Now.

Then again, she sounds so "perky" that it'll probably get annoying after a while.

"With Cortana, Microsoft aims to emulate real personal assistants..."

Just like in real life!

 

[flottenheimer]

I guess Microsoft found the copy-paste-mock key.

 

[petsounds]

BTW- I have mine set on British male voice so I probably should call him Cyril instead He doesn't understand me when I say "aluminum" in my American pronunciation, lol.

I use the female British voice. I find it much more pleasant and sounds more brisk and professional than the American female voice, which has lost the sassy quality it used to have. Only problem is the British voice really mangles many of the Spanish street names around me.

 

[Nahaz]

I work with people that have windows phone and Cortana sounds nothing like that. She is just as robotic as siri.

The American version of Cortana with Jen Taylor's voice is pretty good and far outstrips Siri. The English, Indian and Chinese versions are more robotic just like Siri, and are pretty basic.

I've used Cortana since it's launch to Dev Previewers and unlike Siri, has got smarter over the months. New features are added all the time, including useless stuff like, "Sing me a song", or "What does the Cow say?" The only known advancement in Siri in that time was the addition to find the name of songs, like Shazzam does.

If Cortana ever came out on iOS I could see a lot of people switching to it over Siri.