Cortana for Poland!

[Cortanapl]

Hi! It's a thread mainly for WP fans from Poland! About Cortana! Why Microsoft don't work about Cortana for Poland?! Windows Phone have in Poland around 30% of smartphones market. Why Microsoft, why? I can turn on Cortana in English, but we want Cortana in Polish language!

 

[AndyCalling]

It is puzzling. There is an insignificant number of WP8.1 users in the US and the reason for this is usually stated to be because the US idea of 'cool' is all about having the same thing as everyone else (such as the iPhone). I know, weird right? All my life I have been lead to believe that the US was hooked on freedom and independence, when all along it seems the US population are quite Maoist in their behaviour. But it gets stranger the further down the rabbit hole you go. It seems that though the customers want the same as everyone else, Microsoft think they want exclusives that no-one else can get (without impersonating an American to sneak through the door of course...). I'm not sure MS marketing have a clear understanding of the US public's mindset. I don't blame them, neither do I.

I would have thought that MS should just get Nokia to make a WP phone that looks just like an iPhone (similar to the Android phone they made that looked like a Windows Phone) and sell that in the US. Should make a mint.

 

[Joel S79]

It is puzzling. There is an insignificant number of WP8.1 users in the US and the reason for this is usually stated to be because the US idea of 'cool' is all about having the same thing as everyone else (such as the iPhone). I know, weird right? All my life I have been lead to believe that the US was hooked on freedom and independence, when all along it seems the US population are quite Maoist in their behaviour. But it gets stranger the further down the rabbit hole you go. It seems that though the customers want the same as everyone else, Microsoft think they want exclusives that no-one else can get (without impersonating an American to sneak through the door of course...). I'm not sure MS marketing have a clear understanding of the US public's mindset. I don't blame them, neither do I.

I would have thought that MS should just get Nokia to make a WP phone that looks just like an iPhone (similar to the Android phone they made that looked like a Windows Phone) and sell that in the US. Should make a mint.

It's not puzzling at all. MS is based in the US, as are the development teams working on Cortana and the Bing back end. Which is easier, to get the product working properly using your native language, or try and translate it into dozens of languages while still working out the bugs (remember, it's still in BETA)? They can also use Cortana to drum up support in the US as well, which has a very large market.

Come on. It'll get localized when it's ready.

 

[AndyCalling]

MS is a global corporation. I don't think the location of their HQ should be allowed to get in the way of good business, and I suspect neither does MS. Anyway, being as I'm in the UK an English version would be fine, no translation needed, but it is still not available which indicates this is not a translation issue. This is a similar situation to Datasense which was kept US exclusive for ages, and the many Bing functions that struggle to make it out of the US, and the special versions of the phones that are released only for the US. I just don't understand the business thinking, when their market clearly isn't in the US and when most Americans (being very general here, mind) seem to shun anything that isn't the same as everyone else has. Seems odd to me.

Not that I'm rabid for Cortana, but it was very annoying when MS blocked ALL podcast content from non-US Windows Phones and kept that exclusive until 8.1, especially as they banned any other podcast app from saving to the music library (and so blocked from saving to the SD card). The MS approach is very clear. The reasoning, however, is less so.

 

[Talderon]

MS is a global corporation. I don't think the location of their HQ should be allowed to get in the way of good business, and I suspect neither does MS. Anyway, being as I'm in the UK an English version would be fine, no translation needed, but it is still not available which indicates this is not a translation issue. This is a similar situation to Datasense which was kept US exclusive for ages, and the many Bing functions that struggle to make it out of the US, and the special versions of the phones that are released only for the US. I just don't understand the business thinking, when their market clearly isn't in the US and when most Americans (being very general here, mind) seem to shun anything that isn't the same as everyone else has. Seems odd to me.

Not that I'm rabid for Cortana, but it was very annoying when MS blocked ALL podcast content from non-US Windows Phones and kept that exclusive until 8.1, especially as they banned any other podcast app from saving to the music library (and so blocked from saving to the SD card). The MS approach is very clear. The reasoning, however, is less so.

Ok, just to clear the air here a little, localization is only a PART of the reason why there was not a global release of Cortana out the gate. In order to make all of the features work in a way that would add value, there has to be a HUGE undertaking on the back end as well. Things like, but not limited to:

• Localization for the language (typed text and typed input)
• Localization for voice recognition
• Localization for Conversational Understanding
• GeoFencing for the region (this alone includes knowing where things are, finding regional sources for things like Restraint rating and reviews, social networks, shopping information and on and on that road)

There is more I can list, but this is not a small undertaking on our end. Not only for the application, but for the back-end services.. Some of these services are not deployed to all Data Centers since they were not used there. Now we have to build the infrastructure to not only run it, but allow for growth as well.

I hope this helps a little with the understanding on just SOME of what it will take to get regions ready for Cortana to Go Live there.

Thanks!

 

[AndyCalling]

I can understand why it may take time to roll out something like Cortana, but the same cannot be said of everything else. We were told that Datasense needed the carrier to have systems set up to handle it hence the delay, for example. Yet the data compression only needs a proxy server system (same as Opera Mini) run by MS, not the carrier, and the data counter element? Well when I finally got Datasense it immediately showed the history recorded on my phone since the last time I hard reset proving my phone had been recording the data all along and it had just been hidden up to keep it exclusive. Podcasts are another great example as that required no MS infrastructure at all.

Though there are reasons that can be found for a Cortana slow roll if you want, they are also a great convenience for supporting the exclusivity policy. Otherwise, why not set all this infrastructure up where your customers are, in the first instance, rather than wave the first attempt (bound to be a bit rough) in front of an already skeptical US market? Just because Cortana was always going to be gradual doesn't mean that suddenly MS is not pursuing their standard US exclusivity policy as well. Not that I mind re. Cortana (if it was a separate app I probably would just stick with Bing anyway), but if such is used to justify the exclusivity plan it will continue and I believe just damages MS and my favourite Windows platform. A rethink at MS marketing HQ would not be a bad thing.

 

[Joel S79]

MS is a global corporation. I don't think the location of their HQ should be allowed to get in the way of good business, and I suspect neither does MS. Anyway, being as I'm in the UK an English version would be fine, no translation needed, but it is still not available which indicates this is not a translation issue.

Ok, first off, you say boot, we say trunk, you say "coop-aye", we say "coop", you say saloon, we say sedan, you say estate, we say station wagon, you say lorry, we say semi-truck, you say caravan, we say camper/RV, you say taking the ****, we say teasing, you say "zed", we say "zee", you say "al-oo-min-ee-um", we say "ah-loo-mi-num", you say pub, we primarily use bar, you say loo, we say bathroom, you say pounds/quid, we say dollars/bucks, you say motorway, we say highway/freeway/interstate, when you say "Asian" it usually means from Southern Asia (Indian, Pakistani, etc), we primarily mean east Asia (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese), etc. We both may speak "English", but it's not that simple. Not only are the accents different, but the regional slang and terminology is as well.

Talderon summed up the rest nicely.

To the business argument, Verizon alone has over 100 Million subscribers, that's roughly the population of the UK and Poland combined. There's business to be had there (most people are not married to the OS on their phone), and Cortana is a "look at me" feature that can help get people to switch. Business means getting new customers, not just appeasing their existing ones, and the US market has a huge customer base MS would love to tap into.

If I lived overseas I'd probably be bitter too, but their decision absolutely makes sense, from a technological and business standpoint.

 

[Joel S79]

Yet the data compression only needs a proxy server system (same as Opera Mini) run by MS, not the carrier, and the data counter element?

I don't know if this is true. I'm not positive, but I do recall seeing that the compression services are hosted by the provider (I can't find the source right now). I know when I connect to certain sites from my phone, it shows my location as being in the NY/NJ area (I live in CA). Data Sense was reliant on the CARRIER, and not solely because of infrastructure, but because of what it could mean to their network traffic. Verizon got it first here, the other's still don't have all of its features. MS throwing a bone to the carriers is smart.

Though there are reasons that can be found for a Cortana slow roll if you want, they are also a great convenience for supporting the exclusivity policy. Otherwise, why not set all this infrastructure up where your customers are, in the first instance, rather than wave the first attempt (bound to be a bit rough) in front of an already skeptical US market? Just because Cortana was always going to be gradual doesn't mean that suddenly MS is not pursuing their standard US exclusivity policy as well. Not that I mind re. Cortana (if it was a separate app I probably would just stick with Bing anyway), but if such is used to justify the exclusivity plan it will continue and I believe just damages MS and my favourite Windows platform. A rethink at MS marketing HQ would not be a bad thing.

Because it costs money. A LOT of money. This has nothing to do with your exclusivity theory, and everything to do with cost of implementation.

You talk like it's some conspiracy when it's as simple as dollars and cents.

 

[AndyCalling]

But if MS want to go fracking in the US rather than just tap the gushers in the rest of the world, why go down the exclusive route when US customers just want a WP that looks like an iPhone? After all, MS/Nokia have made an Android phone that looks like a WP to work the Asian markets. There is a big phone market in the US, it's just that it is not really a Windows Phone market yet. Regional exclusivity is proving unpopular in the US and damages the rest of the global market as well. It just isn't achieving the goal. What's more, though Cortana may be a flashy feature why apply exclusivity to Datasense and podcasts etc.? It still seems poorly thought through to me.

I doubt English language variation is the barrier by the way. Most of England sounds closer to some northern US areas than some of the US southern states do. Also, we've all seen enough US films (or is that 'movies'?) to find our way through the few differences, I'm sure we'd cope.

 

[Kuba Muza Elfy Gwiazdy]

Hello. I'm fun of Nokia and Microsoft. And Im feel so so so BAD, to not have Cortana in Poland! There are bright countries and dark and poor. I don't know why but here in Poland there is some kind of politicial to not let the people evolved. And I think thats why i cannot use Cortana in my Nokia 625 with Windows 8.1 becouse of Polish (non official goverment who push and press the people) don't want me to have it!

I think Microsoft know's nothing about it and they cannot do anything in that case. Such Global thing like Microsoft cannot fight local stupidity. And that's true fact.

So. Uncle SAM! Pleace help me. Im in Poland and cannot use Cortana. Even in English. ;-) <3

 

[M Mark]

Whoa! Chemitrails, HAARP, Area 51, man in black and now Polish government blocking Cortana
Kuba, what are you drinking? May I have the same?

I live in Poland and successfully enabled Cortana in all my WP phones. Look for guides ...


Sent from my 41716VG using Tapatalk

 

[pesti87]

I hope this would mean faster expansion to other Slavic languages. They are similar after all.

 

[SirNic]

I thought most of the Polish were in the U.K. :winktongue:

 

[Anand Rangaraj]

they will release country by country until you have to patience

 

[Vitaliy Radovanski]

I have the same question regarding other eastern-European countries...