Cortana could be US only

[Joene90]

Not to sound rude or disrespectful but when a company makes something that has to do with language I expect them to use their primary language first. So Japan would use Japanese and Korea would use Hangul. Finland will be Finnish you get the gist.

After their primary language I expect them to go to the next most spoken language English. From here they would probably want to release said app, software, console, (insert item here). And then spread their support for other languages.

I am sorry if you have to wait in order for your native language to be supported.

No problem. Just release it to me in English and tell me to wait for Dutch support. I have no issues with that, I can understand. What I don't understand is that I can't use the English version in the Netherlands, or even worse - according to this article you're not able to use the English version in Canada, UK and Australia.

 

[dznk]

This really is just a rumour at the moment, nothing more. Until we hear from Microsoft closer to the time of Build, we aren't going to know whether this is correct, partly correct or just false.

Only releasing it initially to the US and making other countries wait much longer would be a mistake. In my opinion, you either release it for many (especially English speaking) regions at the start, or you hang on until you can. Alienating different countries over a period of months or years as this rumour suggests would not be good for anyone.

 

[Pratham Sarwate]

And? I'm from the UK, i won't get it either, it may not understand me if i get the US version.

If Microsoft had said nothing at all, nobody would be moaning. But because they tell people, and give them a realistic timeframe, rather than what they want, they are up in arms.

People need to be more patient. Just because they say 2015/6, doesn't mean there won't be beta's before then, and if there aren't then the service obviously sucks.

Personally i've used the voice commands on both xbox one and WP, and they barely work, and when they do, i struggle to see the use. So i don't understand the excitement.

i was just clarifying the bit about changing the region to get the app.
and my being indian was just an example. it's obvious people of other countries will face problems too.

 

[elmacho]

What I don't understand is that I can't use the English version in the Netherlands, or even worse - according to this article you're not able to use the English version in Canada, UK and Australia.

It would need Bing to be as feature rich in all those regions.I don`t see all that happening very soon as they don`t seem to have implemented all the new features mentioned in the article even in US as of now
Bing introduces new modern logo to integrate the “One Microsoft” vision | Windows Phone Central

 

[Dantekai14]

I think it's true. MS services only focus on USA.
I made a wrong decision choosing WP.
MS don't want other countries users they only want US. They don't give a sh*t to rest of world other than US.
and I think it's a start soon many others features will come like this. and the most disappointing thing is that MS give more priority to US iPhone users than WP non US users because Cortana is also coming on iPhone soon.

Well, thanks to MS , they made me clear that I am on wrong platform.
First I was confuse between Nexus 5 and Lumia 1320. But now I know what to do.
I don't wanna be on that OS which is soooo biased towards non US users.

 

[iAdrian23]

I think it's true. MS services only focus on USA.
I made a wrong decision choosing WP.
MS don't want other countries users they only want US. They don't give a sh*t to rest of world other than US.
and I think it's a start soon many others features will come like this. and the most disappointing thing is that MS give more priority to US iPhone users than WP non US users because Cortana is also coming on iPhone soon.

Well, thanks to MS , they made me clear that I am on wrong platform.
First I was confuse between Nexus 5 and Lumia 1320. But now I know what to do.
I don't wanna be on that OS which is soooo biased towards non US users.

Do you really think MS doesn't want to allow all services in Europe? They do, however nothing is yet ready.

 

[iliramove]

In all fairness, Apple or Google does the same thing with their services. They all launch these features in the US first. Now, I can understand that, since all of them are software companies in the US.

I used with iPhone 5/iOS7 before this. I had the HTC One on Android 4.3 until I switched to Windows Phone. I never get to order pizza or make a booking at a local restaurant here in my country with those phones/services. Does it make a difference? Personally, no. It irks me but its just the fact of life. Does it change the way I view my Windows Phone? No. Because I love and I enjoy using it, even without those Siri, Google Now or the future Cortana.

If they ever bring the services to my country, its bonus.

Sent from my RM-875_apac_sea_220 using Tapatalk

 

[a5cent]

I am sorry if you have to wait in order for your native language to be supported.

You're not thinking about the issue correctly, and although it's already been said, I want to reiterate:

Language and country are not related in the way most Americans think. The country I live in has four official languages, none of which are English. Nevertheless, most of my fellow citizens have no problem understanding or speaking English. Consider also that MANY U.S. citizens also live and work here... they speak English like any other American and use the same services... why exclude them from using Cortana? In fact, most people I work with would prefer to use such services in English. The days when people were fluent in only a single language, and national boarders defined where the use of one language stopped an another started are long gone. Only Americans still have difficulty grasping that fact... international companies do learn however... Apple has learned, Google has learned... for some reason, MS is still clueless.

The point? Being restricted to U.S. English should have zero influence on whether the service is launched globally or not. The only thing that should matter is the language you have set your device to. Instead, MS typically disables services for everyone who's Microsoft Account has a country code other than "United States". Microsoft has a long history of disabling services outside the U.S., even if language is completely irrelevant (like Xbox Music or Audio Search). I think it's obvious that language support has nothing to do with this, particularly since MS already has the tech in place to support a whole host of languages.

Like others said, the issue is more likely that Bing doesn't stand on equal footing outside the U.S.

 

[tgp]

Language and country are not related in the way most Americans think. The country I live in has four official languages, none of which are English. Nevertheless, most of my fellow citizens have no problem understanding or speaking English. Consider also that MANY U.S. citizens also live and work here... they speak English like any other American and use the same services... why exclude them from using Cortana? In fact, most people I work with would prefer to use such services in English. The days when people were fluent in only a single language, and national boarders defined where the use of one language stopped an another started are long gone. Only Americans still have difficulty grasping that fact... international companies do learn however... Apple has learned, Google has learned... for some reason, MS is still clueless.

The point? Being restricted to U.S. English should have zero influence on whether the service is launched globally or not. The only thing that should matter is the language you have set your device to. Instead, MS typically disables services for everyone who's Microsoft Account has a country code other than "United States". Microsoft has a long history of disabling services outside the U.S., even if language is completely irrelevant (like Xbox Music or Audio Search). I think it's obvious that language support has nothing to do with this, particularly since MS already has the tech in place to support a whole host of languages.

Interesting! Do you think Microsoft might restrict services outside the of United States for legal reasons? That would be logical, except it doesn't seem Apple & Google are quite so US centric, so maybe it isn't logical... rly:

 

[AndyCalling]

I don't understand why Spanish isn't an initial release language. I thought it was probably the most wide spread first language in the US now, if not it's certainly up there.

My advice to MS is to release first in countries where their customers actually live. For WP, that should be India and Europe first. US releases for WP are just a sideshow. A small sideshow.

 

[ag1986]

You're not thinking about the issue correctly, and although it's already been said, I want to reiterate:

Language and country are not related in the way most Americans think. The country I live in has four official languages, none of which are English. Nevertheless, most of my fellow citizens have no problem understanding or speaking English. Consider also that MANY U.S. citizens also live and work here... they speak English like any other American and use the same services... why exclude them from using Cortana? In fact, most people I work with would prefer to use such services in English. The days when people were fluent in only a single language, and national boarders defined where the use of one language stopped an another started are long gone. Only Americans still have difficulty grasping that fact... international companies do learn however... Apple has learned, Google has learned... for some reason, MS is still clueless.

The point? Being restricted to U.S. English should have zero influence on whether the service is launched globally or not. The only thing that should matter is the language you have set your device to. Instead, MS typically disables services for everyone who's Microsoft Account has a country code other than "United States". Microsoft has a long history of disabling services outside the U.S., even if language is completely irrelevant (like Xbox Music or Audio Search). I think it's obvious that language support has nothing to do with this, particularly since MS already has the tech in place to support a whole host of languages.

Like others said, the issue is more likely that Bing doesn't stand on equal footing outside the U.S.

This, a thousand times this. I have my Nexus 5 set to English U.S. and a US billing address on my Play Store account, and everything just works as if I was in the USA. Google Now does a great job of recognising my voice (slightly British accent). It would be great if MS did not disable services or not launch them in geos outside the US.

 

[kmji1957]

Off the topic, to a5cent, do you live in Switzerland, maybe?

Sent from my Lumia 820 using Tapatalk

 

[eruptflail]

It would make sense that some of the features would be limited, but I can't see them removing the functionality entirely, and I would assume that the full version would only be available in English speaking countries, because voice recognition has to be built from the ground up with each new language.

 

[osoalex]

C'mon, MS wants to grow in US but they see growth in EVERY other country.

MS can't be that blind.

 

[a5cent]

Interesting! Do you think Microsoft might restrict services outside the of United States for legal reasons? That would be logical, except it doesn't seem Apple & Google are quite so US centric, so maybe it isn't logical... rly:

Absolutely, although that question surely deserves a thousand different answers, depending on the service in question. For Xbox Music that was/is true. For other services it wasn't/isn't. For something like Cortana, I could imagine that privacy laws might present a few extra challenges outside the U.S. , but my guess is that Bing is the far bigger issue. Scouring unstructured web pages for actionable data is very hard, expensive and unreliable. Consequentially, Bing is hooked up to many U.S. data sources that allows it to integrate information beyond what it finds in indexed web pages. That is where Cortana would source most of its information from. Outside the U.S. however, none of that infrastructure yet exists.

 

[a5cent]

Off the topic, to a5cent, do you live in Switzerland, maybe?

Yes.

 

[jaypatel19]

Yes we are doomed as a wp owner outside US, Microsoft's development rate is very slow & we all know this, the features used (actually chewed) by other users we r exciting to get those it in April2014( may b june)

 

[hopmedic]

It's clear that many people here have never created an artificial intelligence engine....

 

[Lukas Jankauskas]

Guys you really want to talk to a dead phone? Even if it worked I find it the most useless feature, which is interesting and cool for the first time you try it out

 

[hopmedic]

I don't understand why Spanish isn't an initial release language. I thought it was probably the most wide spread first language in the US now, if not it's certainly up there.

My advice to MS is to release first in countries where their customers actually live. For WP, that should be India and Europe first. US releases for WP are just a sideshow. A small sideshow.

Given your logic, Mandarin would be the language. But it makes sense to start with a smaller customer base, tick off fewer people while you work out the bugs, and then work your way out. Many things are done this way, especially with software. They often call it "beta".