Thanksgiving weekend may have been enhanced by the Black Friday savings on offer, but as many of you will be aware, the deals have not yet ceased. After Black Friday comes Cyber Monday, and with so many big-money savings, it can be hard to keep track. Here, we run through some of the best offers from the companies you like to purchase from, so if you have any money left, check out the Cyber Monday options after the break.
With Thanksgiving day, followed by Black Friday, and inevitably, Christmas, the consumer electronics market will be abuzz with savings, as each vendor and retailer looks to attract additional custom at this most lucrative time of year.
It's that time of year again, and I presume many of you are already preparing yourselves for the annual consumer frenzy that is Black Friday. Companies in most product fields will be lowering their prices this weekend, but it's the tech we're most interested in, and Microsoft has today joined Apple and others in revealing some of the deals it'll be offering as of tomorrow.
Accompanying the talk and speculation of the next-gen, "Xbox 720" games console, the prospect of a separate, entertainment-focused entity has also stuck around. With the current Xbox 360 having morphed from an out-and-out gaming portal to an all-round device for music, movies and apps as well as your favorite games, it's looking increasingly as though Microsoft plans to make a more sustained assault on the television market in the near future. In fact, a report over at TheVerge states, in no uncertain terms, that Microsoft is building a set-top box, and it'll rival the likes of Apple TV when eventually unveiled next year.
Oprah Winfrey is one of the most celebrated television presenters of a generation, but today enters the blogosphere having made a quite comical tech faux pas in Tweeting about her love for the Microsoft Surface, but doing so using the official Twitter app for Apple's iPad.
A games console resembles different things to different individuals, and while some prefer to chow down on some serious tactical battles on Call of Duty, others prefer - often to the disdain of neighbors and housemates - to test their vocal ranges on the various singing / karaoke games available. With Sony having already adopted a freemium model to its SingStar karaoke range, Xbox 360 maker Microsoft plans to deploy a similar tactic with its own upcoming app, which is quite aptly named Karaoke.
With Windows 8 having just been released to the public, Microsoft now has the test of selling not only to consumers, but to businesses worldwide. Emirates, a renowned high-end airline, has already adopted the platform as a means to improve the inflight experience to its customers, and while staff are better able to communicate thanks to "knowledge-driven" inflight service app by the name of KIS, but those flying with Emirates are also enjoying a slicker experience.
According to a report over at WMPowerUser, the long-awaited release of Windows Phone 7.8 is almost upon us, so those rocking one of the older WP7.X devices will be able to get something of a taster of Windows Phone 8.
Since acquiring Skype, Microsoft has been implementing the VoIP software and technology into every product possible. So far, so good, and as well as a slew of new apps for various different platforms, the promotions have also been rolled out at a rate of knots. In the latest, regular Skype users can make free calls for a month not only to other Skype users, but to mobiles and landlines.
Although preceded by Windows Phone 7.x, the perception is that Windows Phone 8 is Microsoft's first real stab at today's mobile market. The experimental phase has now passed, and the Redmond company is all set to launch its assault on Android and iOS with its new improved ecosystem and to begin with, the Surface. Naturally, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stepped out and criticized his two main rivals, and while he calls the Android ecosystem "wild" and "uncontrolled," he also states Apple's iOS is is as highly-priced as it is controlled.
