Re: Your UK Experience of Coitana
So far, 'she' doesn't seem to have much personality; quirky questions inevitably result in a Bing search. That being said, these kinds of questions/responses are only the superficial aspect of the service; the main functionality appears to be good. I'm impressed with the voice recognition which does indeed seem to deal with implication and intent very well - perhaps even better than Google Now, which I find to be a very impressive service. I am also glad to finally have access to the quiet hours feature.
I'm still of an opinion that these tools will be at their most useful when they can be activated by voice for times when you're physically unable to handle your phone, or when it is unsafe to do so. While some people will no doubt be eager for MS to inject some 'personality' in to Cortana, I'm more interested in seeing a genuine hands free capability evolve, as it is starting to on Android.
Still, as a beta, it is a solid start and I look forward to seeing it progress.