Windows Phone's 'Cortana' will challenge Siri and Google Now for smart assistant supremacy

In the battle for hearts, minds, and intelligent helpfulness, Microsoft plans to wage war against Siri and Google Now with the help of the most full-featured digital assistant ever imagined. No, not Microsoft Bob--stop your snickering--but Cortana, the faithful, blue-tinged AI that helped the Master Chief win the war against the Covenant hordes in the legendary Halo series of video games. Early leaks of the impending Windows Phone 8.1 update have featured an app dubbed "zCortana," and according to ZDNet, WPCentral, and The Verge, Cortana is the codename for a voice-controlled, adaptable digital assistant--kind of like Siri, but smarter. A Windows Phone 8.1 build acquired by The Verge shows that Microsoft is already testing Cortana's ability to pull in notifications, weather and location info, calendar details, and more, and "she" also has access to the phone's Bluetooth capabilities. Bing's Satori engine--a massive knowledge database, named after the first step on the Buddhist path to enlightenment--is said to be the brains behind Cortana.