Cortana's cute face only has eyes for China

Cortana, Microsoft's answer to iPhone's Siri, has a face after all—and it looks cute. Unfortunately, the cute face is heading only to China, a tech site reported.

 

The Verge said the cute-faced Cortana is part of Microsoft's efforts to localize the voice and content for various regions worldwide.

 

"Microsoft is localizing the voice and a lot of content for each region, but the Chinese version is getting some interesting changes along the way. In China Cortana will have a different visual appearance with slightly tweaked animations and sounds. This is mainly to introduce eyes to the small bouncing character, something Microsoft found very important for China in particular," it said.

 

It added the special face with the cute eyes will not be available outside of China.

 

Cortana will be with Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 release as a beta in China and the United Kingdom.

 

It will also be available as an alpha (early test) in Canada, India, and Australia.

 

"The UK version of Cortana won’t have the same Jen Taylor voice as the US version, and nor will the Chinese edition," The Verge said.

 

Chinese Cortana

 

Cortana for China will also have specialized suggestions such as including air quality information and local TV show results.

 

In the UK, Cortana will give users access to English Premier League scores, London Stock Exchange information, and train / transport updates.

 

On the other hand, Canadian, Indian, and Australian users will have to opt in.

 

Other visual improvements to the WP update include a change to the Store Live Tile to see information about new apps.

 

Another update includes the ability to select multiple SMS messages for forwarding or deletion, while still another lets the user customize snooze settings for alarms. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News