How to use Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana

First Things First: Enable Cortana

You can launch Cortana in three different ways:

*Tapping the search button opens up the voice assistant.
*Long press launches Cortana in listening mode.
*Tapping the Cortana icon in the app drawer launches it, as well (you can even pin the app to the Start menu to access Cortana faster).

Note: The first time you launch Microsoft's virtual assistant, you'll be asked to grant her access to your device.

Tell Cortana About Yourself

Cortana might seem a bit boring to you in the beginning, but this will definitely change with time, as Cortana learns more about you and your interests. If you're impatient, you can always give her the necessary information about yourself. Launch Cortana and then tap on the icon with three lines (top right corner of the screen) to view Cortana's Notebook. Once there, you can enter your favourite music, sports teams, set up your locations and weather information, as well as set reminders and enable your phone's Quiet Hours (similar to iOS's Do Not Disturb option).

Make It Personal

Cortana can have access to your Facebook friends and call you by your name – basically, you can make her as personal as you want her to be. To enable any of these features, you'll have to go to Cortana's Notebook once again. For example, in the settings menu, tap on the box “Have Cortana call me by my name” and then on “Set my name”. If you want Cortana to access your Facebook friends, here's where you'll set this option up.

What Else Can Cortana Do?

Identify Your Favourite Songs

If you want Cortana to recognize a song you're listening to, you'll need to launch it and then tap on the music icon next to the Notebook icon. Cortana will “listen” to the song and after a couple of minutes provide you with the artist, the song and the album the song appears on. It will also offer you to purchase the album or individual songs.

Set Up Reminders

To do this, you need to tell Cortana “The next time I speak to [person], remind me to [do something]”. So, the next time you talk to your friend or someone else you mentioned to Cortana, your phone will remind you of the set task. The same thing goes if you want to set a reminder based on a location.

Even More Features

*If you're in a situation where you can't talk (too noisy or too quiet), you can simply type in your request. Cortana won't speak then, but just write out the info on your phone's screen.
*Like Google Now, Cortana can make sure you're not late for a meeting because of, e.g. heavy traffic.
*With Cortana, you can ask for things in natural language, instead of worrying about learning set phrases like you do with Siri.