One of the most interesting features Windows Phone 8.1 has is the new personal assistant Cortana, who is the namesake of the blue lady in the Halo franchise.

But the new information said Cortana will only be available for those who are getting Windows Phone 8.1 update in the U.S. If you want to have Cortana in your Windows Phone 8.1 update so you can get all the benefits of a Siri-like assistant, there's a chance that you may be limited. Thanks to the beta test of the feature, which will run until around the third quarter of the year.

This is the only time that the new feature will be made available for other territories, including UK, and if you're in other areas, you may even have to expect to get Cortana come 2015.

To get around this restriction, Phone Arena has spotted a new video that would enable you to trick your phone into thinking that it's getting a Windows Phone 8.1 update over in the U.S. It's as easy as changing the region settings of your device, although changing this setting back to its original state will make Cortana disappear, but post-beta Cortana will roll out to all regions anyway when the time comes.

Miracast Media Sharing Also Coming to Windows Phone 8.1

Earlier, the new features of the Windows Phone 8.1 update have already been reported. But new information shows that Miracast media sharing is also one of these new features.

This new upgrade will allow for easy content sharing and sending via other devices, including your TV while using your Windows Phone 8.1 device. But according to Engadget, this feature may not be as easy to have, not unless you will be trading your current phone for a newer one.

It seems that most of the already rolled out Microsoft Windows Phone 8 devices may not be able to enjoy this feature, as they may not be fully equipped to handle such technology.

So far, the only confirmed Windows Phone 8 devices that can support Miracast include the Lumia 1520, the Lumia 930 and Icon.

Windows Phone 8.2 Already Teased?

Even before Windows Phone 8.1 update has been released, talk of the Windows Phone 8.2 has already been brought up over at a Reddit thread by a supposedly anonymous Microsoft employee.

Ubergizmo reported the source is supposedly someone who has had 15 years' worth of work with Redmond, and has taken to Reddit to update the public of the upcoming update following the one that will be released over the summer.

Apparently, Windows Phone 8.2 may launch in as early as 8 months from now, and will allow for bypassing a "Do not Disturb" mode via text messaging for a contact's more trusted members. This will be done when a password within the text message is included, that's the only time when the phone user will be notified of the message.

There's also a native Facebook app that's being worked on with the new update and support for Skype. For now, the report is nothing more than rumors and claims of anonymous sources until officially announced by Microsoft, so best to take it with a grain of salt.

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