Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant headed to Android and iOS late June

Microosft has announced that it will make its Bing-powered Cortana voice assistant available as standalone apps for rival Android and iOS devices. Cortana is one of the hallmark features of Windows 8.1 for Phones and will be a key component of Windows 10 on the desktop.

Microsoft expects to make all the queries and features of Cortana on Windows available to Android and iOS devices when the apps launch late June. This means that rival phones will have the ability to enjoy a key feature of Windows 10 for Phones before the new OS comes to market. For iOS users, this means they now have a choice of three voice assistants on the platform with Siri, Google Now and Cortana available on their devices.

Source:  Microsoft Blog via The Verge

The Apple Beat: Refocusing Jony Ive's role and how it impacts Apple

(left to right) Alan Dye, Jony Ive, and Richard Howarth (Photo: Gabriela Hasbun for The Telegraph)

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The big news was Jony Ive moving to the newly created Chief Design Officer position while his senior team members Richard Horwarth and Alan Dye take on VP positions for Industrial Design and User Interface respectively. The news broke through an exclusive by Stephen Fry for The Telegraph, of all places.

Fry, who has been an avowed Apple watcher for over 30 years, was invited to spend time with Jony Ive as well as Tim Cook to get to meet Ive's successors in the VP positions he vacates on July 1st as he moves to cover more new projects (as well as to collaborate with Norman Foster Architects on Apple Campus 2 as well as on Apple Retail Store design).

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Mercedes-Benz to introduce door-to-door navigation with Apple Watch

Mercedes-Benz aims to create intelligent  and intuitive integration between Apple Watch and Mercedes-Benz vehicles with its new MB Companion App.

The MB Companion App allows Mercedes-Benz costumers to search for directions on the Apple Watch or on iPhone initiating a complete door-to-door experience. A seamless integration unfolds: giving walking directions to the car on the Apple Watch, driving directions on the vehicle navigation system and again walking directions on the Apple Watch from the car to the final destination.

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iPhone 5c credited for saving man from shotgun blast

An iPhone 5c took the brunt of a shotgun blast that was fired to kill a 25-year old British man. The iPhone 5c's polycarbonate case was deformed but not punctured, and while it received much of the impact, the victim was still seriously injured. 

"[The attacker's] actions that night were extreme and shocking - the victim went outside to speak to the group about the fact they had turned off the water supply resulting in the defendant shooting him with a powerful weapon," Cheshire Police Detective Inspector Gary McIntyre said in a statement.

Launched in 2013, the Apple iPhone 5c features coloured plastic case but is reinforced with a steel frame.

Source: AppleInsider