Microsoft challenges Google Home and Amazon Echo with Cortana-powered speakers

Amazon and Google are already rocking the market with their cool artificially intelligent products, Google Home and Amazon Echo. Both are voice activated speakers where Google Home is powered by Google’s Assistant and Amazon Echo by Amazon Alexa, voice assistant systems based on the concept of Natural Language Processing (NLP) backed by Artificial Intelligence. You just need to say “Ok Google” and “Alexa” and the device is activated.
You can do things from getting real time updates on traffic, weather, events etc. to controlling your music on various cloud services, controlling your home lights, retrieve your flight information, set alarms and timers, connecting to Chromecast and many more.

Now, Microsoft is also trying its luck in the arena by introducing Microsoft’s voice assistant system, the Cortana-powered speaker in collaboration with Harmon Kardon.

The company will be kicking the pilot project in a couple of weeks. The device will come with Skype integration. The device will offer a seamless experience irrespective of what device you own, thanks to Cortana being available on all three mobile platforms. Cortana’s abilities have been growing ever since it went cross-platform, having about 145 million monthly users.

The report says that a new ‘Cortana speaker’ feature in Windows, similar to Amazon’s Echo home speaker setup is now showing up within the Cortana window on the taskbar itself. This feature launches a non-existing Cortana Device Setup app that helps you to set up a smart device within the page itself. Moreover, the tab reads provides you two options — ‘set up your new Cortana speaker’ and a ‘Buy Now’ button which currently leads you to Microsoft’s home page. There is also a tutorial for the device setup app, which is unavailable for now.

As of now, Microsoft is inviting selected Windows Insiders from US to have hands-on this cool device. The Redmond company’s vision for Cortana is obviously bigger than just a personal assistant on mobile devices and PCs. This can be seen with the digital assistant’s intrusion into Internet of Things, connected cars, and how it ties into the Home Hub, the Redmond company’s homegrown rival to Amazon Echo and Google Home.

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