Jen Taylor, voice of Microsoft Windows Cortana, prefers to use Apple's iPhone

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2015
Actress Jen Taylor, who voiced the the Cortana AI character in Halo games as well as providing the voice of Microsoft's identically named Siri-like assistant for Windows Mobile, actually uses an iPhone.

JenTaylor Cortana iOS


On Twitter, Taylor recently shared a photo captioned "oh my geez Seattle is beautiful," sent via iOS, as noted by reader @supertino.

iPhone remains more "super useful"

Apple released Siri in 2011, and the feature immediately became a "major force in selling iPhone 4S" as analyst Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee observed.

Google and Microsoft initially mocked Apple's voice assistant. Andy Rubin, then the head of Android development at Google, insisted that he doesn't "believe that your phone should be an assistant" like Siri, while Microsoft's Andy Lees of Windows Phone development was quick to say he didn't think Apple's new Siri was "super useful," indicating his company would avoid having its users speak commands to their phones in public.

Both companies quickly dropped their objections and copied Apple. Google unveiled its Google Now voice assistant the following summer as a feature in 2012's Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, while Microsoft scrambled to release its own Cortana voice assistant for Windows Phone 8.1, which shipped in beta form in April 2014.

Microsoft sought to tie its Xbox Halo "Cortana" character into its long ignored Windows Phone business to garner interest among gamers. In Halo, Cortana is represented as a voluptuously naked female sexual object painted with blue electrical circuits.

In reality, Taylor is an accomplished actress of 41 who has played a series of roles in video games (including the voice of Nintendo's Princess Peach) and on stage, including a portrayal of Eliza Doolittle in a 2012 production of Pygmalion.

Twitter outs iPhone celebrities

Twitter has regularly caught Samsung's paid endorsements with an iPhone instead, from sports celebrities who tweet out its scripted advertisements from their iPhones to occasions where personalities such as Ellen DeGeneres and David Beckham return to using their own iPhone after being paid to pose with an Android product.

David Ferrer


David Beckham iPhone


LeBron Samsung


In March, Samsung sponsor LeBron James tweeted out a different sort of message when he complained from his Galaxy Note, "My phone just erased everything it had in it and rebooted. One of the sickest feelings I've ever had in my life!!!"
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    That is pretty funny. Yet again, just like so many Scamsung celebrity endorsements, they use iPhones. Apple really should start running ads highlighting this. What a gift!
  • Reply 2 of 45
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    That's hilarious, and also, not all that surprising!

     

    It seems that practically anybody of any importance uses iOS. 

     

    The only people and celebrities who claim to use something else are people who are getting paid by other companies to lie, like Samsung, but in real life, after their fake endorsement is over, they put down their crappy phones that they are paid to promote, and then they pick up their iPhones after the job is done.:smokey:

     

    How many people and celebrities have gotten busted again for tweeting about how great other phones are, but sending those tweets from their iPhone? <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" /> 

  • Reply 3 of 45
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Is this a side-effect from having gone mad and getting killed in her last game?
  • Reply 4 of 45
    If Microsoft commercials are accurate, Siri admires Cortana because she can remind you to buy flowers for your wife the next time you're near a flower shop, even if the next time you're near a flower shop is two months after you forgot to get your wife flowers for her anniversary.
  • Reply 5 of 45

    One Saturday this past May strolling through the mall I caught an Apple retail employee waiting in line at the food court on a Galaxy S4. 

    My brother works at one of the 3 major banks yet still keeps his accounts at another. My neighbor works for Volvo NA yet there's a BMW and Toyota in his driveway. One of my good friends runs an AT&T authorized reseller store...he uses Verizon.

     

    ...so what? Heaven forbid people kept their day job in the office and personal life personal I suppose. Jen's a voice actress, not a Microsoft Engineer. Does getting a paycheck mean we all need to be corporate stewards 24/7 for those that provide us one? I hope not. 

  • Reply 6 of 45
    One Saturday this past May strolling through the mall I caught an Apple retail employee waiting in line at the food court on a Galaxy S4. 
    My brother works at one of the 3 major banks yet still keeps his accounts at another. My neighbor works for Volvo NA yet there's a BMW and Toyota in his driveway. One of my good friends runs an AT&T authorized reseller store...he uses Verizon.

    ...so what? Heaven forbid people kept their day job in the office and personal life personal I suppose. Jen's a voice actress, not a Microsoft Engineer. Does getting a paycheck mean we all need to be corporate stewards 24/7 for those that provide us one? I hope not. 

    That's because they are employees and that is how employees think. If you are being paid to use a brand then it's insulting to use in public the competition's device. Cortana voice actress might be different seeing she isn't a brand ambassador as far as I know.
  • Reply 7 of 45
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gilly33 View Post



    That's because they are employees and that is how employees think. If you are being paid to use a brand then it's insulting to use in public the competition's device. Cortana voice actress might be different seeing she isn't a brand ambassador as far as I know.

     

    Jen Taylor is not a Microsoft employee, any more than John Hodgman is an Apple employee.

    Actors work for themselves.

  • Reply 8 of 45
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post

     

    One Saturday this past May strolling through the mall I caught an Apple retail employee waiting in line at the food court on a Galaxy S4. 


     

    What a totally despicable story! That Apple employee should immediately be fired! If I had witnessed that, I would have sent an email to Tim Cook.

     

    Not because Apple shouldn't allow freedom of choice, but because any Apple employee choosing to use Android over iOS is obviously unqualified for their job. It shows a lack of technical understanding and just an all around general cluelessness on the part of the employee. And that person is supposed to be selling Apple products? I doubt that they are a very good salesperson. I question the sanity of anybody choosing Android over iOS, especially when the subject in question is an Apple employee who gets discounts on Apple devices. Who wants crazy people working for them?

     

    It is baffling that any Apple employee would ever choose to use an Android phone out of their own free will. On the other hand, it is totally understandable that employees at other companies, like Microsoft and Google, choose to use Apple devices and Apple computers, since Apple's are the best that you can get.

     

    This is not a two way street.

  • Reply 9 of 45
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member

    You would think Microsoft would have a much better shot at getting switchers from Android not Apple. The only reason I can think you don't see those commercials are companies like HTC that make a Windows phone also make an Android phone. But I still think they would get more customers targeting Android. 

     

    If those commercials are true, Cortana does sound a lot more natural than Siri. I won't for a second consider switching over that but I do hope Siri can start sounding a little less robotic with the update. 

  • Reply 10 of 45
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    If Microsoft commercials are accurate, Siri admires Cortana because she can remind you to buy flowers for your wife the next time you're near a flower shop, even if the next time you're near a flower shop is two months after you forgot to get your wife flowers for her anniversary.

    Your "Then-wife" if you forgot your anniversary.
  • Reply 11 of 45

    Before I took a shower, I said this to Siri: "House of cards season three". It absolutely understood what I said because she wrote out the text perfectly. Yet, she pulled up the schedule for the Cardinals. Did this thing get worse over the past year or so? Did something change? I swear she was much better a year ago than now. Introduce a little background noise, and it's practically functionless.

     

    This was a little off topic, but I figured I had to share my thoughts on it.

  • Reply 12 of 45
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    What a totally despicable story! That Apple employee should immediately be fired! If I had witnessed that, I would have sent an email to Tim Cook.

    Not because Apple shouldn't allow freedom of choice, but because any Apple employee choosing to use Android over iOS is obviously unqualified for their job. It shows a lack of technical understanding and just an all around general cluelessness on the part of the employee. And that person is supposed to be selling Apple products? I doubt that they are a very good salesperson. I question the sanity of anybody choosing Android over iOS, especially when the subject in question is an Apple employee who gets discounts on Apple devices. Who wants crazy people working for them?

    It is baffling that any Apple employee would ever choose to use an Android phone out of their own free will. On the other hand, it is totally understandable that employees at other companies, like Microsoft and Google, choose to use Apple devices and Apple computers, since Apple's are the best that you can get.

    This is not a two way street.

    Unless they are tied into a contract gotten before they got the job and can't afford an an upgrade or an iPhone.
  • Reply 13 of 45
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post



    Unless they are tied into a contract gotten before they got the job and can't afford an an upgrade or an iPhone.

     

    I suppose that might be the only reasonable excuse for them. I mean, Apple retail employees don't get free iPhones AFAIK, so I can buy your possible explanation.

     

    On the other hand, Apple should tighten up their hiring process in my opinion, because I would never have hired that person to begin with.

  • Reply 14 of 45
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    I suppose that might be the only reasonable excuse for them. I mean, Apple retail employees don't get free iPhones AFAIK, so I can buy your possible explanation.

    On the other hand, Apple should tighten up their hiring process in my opinion, because I would never have hired that person to begin with.

    Then that would be discriminatory behaviour and Apple is already dealing with lawsuits over their hiring practices.
  • Reply 15 of 45
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post



    Then that would be discriminatory behaviour and Apple is already dealing with lawsuits over their hiring practices.

     

    Is it really illegal to discriminate against somebody if they use an Android phone?

     

    I mean seriously, that is absurd. What a sad, sad place the world is turning into.

     

    That is an essential part of the job selection process. If somebody uses an Android phone, then they obviously do not fit in at Apple.

     

    What if somebody goes to an interview and answers a question badly? Is it then discriminatory to deny that person a job? 

     

    Should employers be allowed to hold interviews or screen future employees at all? I see asking somebody about which phone they use as part of the screening process. If that's illegal, then so be it. I will continue to do what is right. I do not subscribe to and follow unjust laws.

     

    This whole "discrimination" business sounds totally insane and backwards.

  • Reply 16 of 45
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    One Saturday this past May strolling through the mall I caught an Apple retail employee waiting in line at the food court on a Galaxy S4. 
    My brother works at one of the 3 major banks yet still keeps his accounts at another. My neighbor works for Volvo NA yet there's a BMW and Toyota in his driveway. One of my good friends runs an AT&T authorized reseller store...he uses Verizon.

    ...so what? Heaven forbid people kept their day job in the office and personal life personal I suppose. Jen's a voice actress, not a Microsoft Engineer. Does getting a paycheck mean we all need to be corporate stewards 24/7 for those that provide us one? I hope not. 

    I have a number of friends who have work at Apple stores and they have advised that, occasionally, when a staff member errs, they are forced to use an Android device for a fortnight.

    Quite frankly, I totally disagree with this practice.

    I mean, doesn't the Geneva Convention haves rules against treating human beings in this manner?
  • Reply 17 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

     

    I suppose that might be the only reasonable excuse for them. I mean, Apple retail employees don't get free iPhones AFAIK, so I can buy your possible explanation.

     

    On the other hand, Apple should tighten up their hiring process in my opinion, because I would never have hired that person to begin with.




    If it was a gift from someone then I could see it. Not something that I would want to receive personally but if I got one I'd feel a little bad about not using it and perhaps even a tad guilty.



    Hell this guy could also be a new hire and this is Apple's version of hazing. "You really want to work for Apple? Ok then let's see you strut around with this for 90 days. You take it off or use any other phone during this time and you're fired."

  • Reply 18 of 45
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post

     



    If it was a gift from someone then I could see it. Not something that I would want to receive personally but if I got one I'd feel a little bad about not using it and perhaps even a tad guilty.


     

    You are obviously a better person than I am, because I would probably be deeply offended if anybody gave me such a gift. 

     

    I figure that anybody who would be giving me such a gift would have to know me fairly well, and anybody who knows me, knows that I pretty much only use Apple stuff, so I would have to assume that if somebody that I knew gave me such a gift, it would have to be some kind of practical joke or something.

     

    If it was a joke, then I would laugh it off, probably right before I smashed the phone in front of them. And then we'd both laugh at the situation.

     

    But if it was for real, then I would be offended I believe, since they obviously don't know me all that well.

  • Reply 19 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

     

    You are obviously a better person than I am, because I would probably be deeply offended if anybody gave me such a gift. 

     

    I figure that anybody who would be giving me such a gift would have to know me fairly well, and anybody who knows me, knows that I pretty much only use Apple stuff, so I would have to assume that if somebody that I knew gave me such a gift, it would have to be some kind of practical joke or something.

     

    If it was a joke, then I would laugh it off, probably right before I smashed the phone in front of them. And then we'd both laugh at the situation.

     

    But if it was for real, then I would be offended I believe, since they obviously don't know me all that well.




    Hell I'd sell the damn thing. I'd get maybe a few pesos for it but it all adds up in the end. Thank them and then put it on Ebay right in front of them

  • Reply 20 of 45
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post

     



    Hell I'd sell the damn thing. I'd get maybe a few pesos for it but it all adds up in the end. Thank them and then put it on Ebay right in front of them


     

    That's an option too, everybody has their own methods.

     

    Hell, I lost the equivalent of many Android phones today just in the drop in AAPL today. One Android phone is meaningless to me. I'd probably just break the damn thing. 

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