Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Windows Phone 8.1
Microsoft announced a huge upgrade to Windows Phone at a developer conference early this morning New Zealand time. The changes in Windows Phone 8.1 are dramatic, easily as big as the leap from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8.
The bad news is that we probably won't see the Cortana personal assistant - Microsoft's version of Apple's Siri - in New Zealand for some time. Lifehacker Australia reports the beta programme rolls out first in the US, then in the UK and says Australia won't get the software until some time in 2015.
That's a pity, I'd like to get my hands on Windows Phone 8.1.
On the other hand, my pommy-NZ accent performs appallingly with speech recognition software, so perhaps I won't miss much.
Bill Bennett
Freelance journalist.
Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.
His emphasis is on telecommunications, but he also covers other aspects of technology and business. You can find his features in the New Zealand Herald and hear him regularly on RNZ Nine to Noon and the NZ Tech Podcast.
Bennett's The Download Weekly newsletter is published every Friday. You can sign up for it here.
If you want to support his work, you can make a donation to his PressPatron account.
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