14 DAY TRIAL // Following the official unveiling of Windows Phone 8.1 on April 2, Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has started to tease some of the new features that the platform update is capable of providing its Lumia users with.
Among them, we can count a redesigned Calendar application, along with the brand new digital personal assistant in the mobile operating system, called Cortana.
As Nokia points out in a new post on Nokia Conversations, the refreshed Calendar application in Windows Phone 8.1 will open in a new week view, which should provide users with better visibility over the week’s events. Moreover, there is also a mini monthly calendar available in the corner.
Users are provided with the possibility to pan left or right to access a weekly view of events that have already passed, or to have a look at what is coming in the near future.
“Much like Outlook’s web calendar, your new Nokia Lumia with Windows 8.1 now includes the local weather, giving you a quick forecast for the day or rest of the week,” the aforementioned blog post explains.
When tapping on a calendar entry, users will receive a full list of details, while maintaining the week view. However, Lumia owners will also be provided with the option to customize the calendar view based on preferences such as day, month, or year.
The new calendar application will be present on Lumia 630, Lumia 635, and 930 at launch, while current Nokia handsets will receive it in summer along with the Windows Phone 8.1 upgrade.
Cortana, the aforementioned digital personal assistant, will have a similar fate, it seems. Powered by Bing, it comes with deep integration throughout the platform, and it should help users do more on their devices, easier than before.
Cortana will be able to read and add calendar entries, notify you on various things, deliver flight information or email confirmations, and much more.
“You can ask Cortana to not disturb you during specified times. For the duration of these ‘quiet hours’ your phone will be switched to silent and Cortana will only grant access to the most important people from your ‘inner circle’,” Nokia Conversations explains.
The digital personal assistant also comes with a Notebook that functions like your personal profile, where it keeps details on your preferences and interests.
Although it will be available only for users in the United States in the beginning, Cortana is set to land on devices in other countries as well in the coming months. However, users can also change their language and location settings to US to get Cortana outside this market.