On Monday, Microsoft revealed the Windows Phone 8.1, the successor to its competitive Windows Phone 8 at Microsoft's Build Conference. The latest phone represents the new generation for the MS Windows Phone mobile operating system. All users of 8.0 can already upgrade to this version; it was released publicly on April 14.

The new Windows Phone 8.1 (code name "Blue") will offer smart phone users a host of new features. First on the list is Cortana, a personal virtual assistant that is comparable to Apple's Siri or Google Now. Using this feature, you can set reminders and use voice commands. Blue also has the Notebook feature that gathers the user's information according to device usage.

Built-in apps will include the new Battery Sense, Storage Sense and Wi-Fi Sense. The default web browser is Internet Explorer 11. Streaming is provided by Xbox Music and Xbox Video. For notifications, an Action Center has been featured, which allows changing basic settings such as volume, connections, modes and many others. Additionally, a "Word Flow" keyboard is used, which is comparable to Android's "Swype" option. This holds the fastest typing record in smartphones. Users can even swipe through and a space is automatically generated. All these and other innovative features are to be expected from the Windows Phone 8.1.

Windows Phone 8.1 supports up to a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, minimum 4-GB flash memory, 1-GB RAM for WXGA, 720p and 1080p and a minimum of 512-MB RAM for WVGA phones. Micro-USB 2.0 is supported, along with a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack. Several manufacturers have already expressed interest in producing devices with Windows Phone 8.1 including Lenovo, LG, Huawei, HTC, Samsung, Nokia, Sony and ZTE. There were reports that Microsoft was willing to offer 70 percent markdown price for low-cost device makers.