Microsoft releases Cortana to Android as public beta

You can set reminders, search the web, track flight details, and even ask her to sing you happy birthday. It has been launched as a key ingredient of Microsoft’s planned “makeover” of the future operating systems for Windows Phone and Windows.

As Microsoft looks to extend its reach past the Windows ecosystem, Cortana’s ability to learn from users across devices is quickly becoming a crucial part of the company’s sales pitch. In this case, Microsoft is making Cortana portable and thus more convenient for people who use it on Windows PCs and tablets but whose smartphone runs Android.

Otherwise, Cortana on Android isn’t all that different than on Windows.

I received a message that says: “Thanks for your interest in becoming a beta tester for Cortana”.

Cortana for Android has gone into public beta, bringing Microsoft’s sass-talking personal assistant to smartphones running Google’s OS. But, in addition to the other limitations, it can’t launch apps or initiate functions hands free – as you can by saying “OK Google” or “Hey Siri” (less reliably). Given the slow rollout to Android and iOS, it could be quite some time before we get a clear picture of Microsoft’s potential success here. Once you’ve done that, you can download Cortana for Android from Google Play.

The beta version of the software will be available for Android users in US and soon it will be rolled out to other markets. If you do decide to give it a try, let us know what you think of it in the comments section.

Microsoft notes that this is still a beta and that they’re always listening to feedback and continually improving the user experience. Though Microsoft hasn’t ruled out this feature for Android, but has only claimed that it is missing because this is a beta build.