Microsoft has launched the Microsoft Work & Play Bundle which bundles four of its most popular subscriptions into one. The attraction is that together the four services cost less than half the price you would pay separately. Also today Microsoft has launched its first own branded smartphone building on the Lumia line it acquired earlier in the year. We are told to give a high five to the new Microsoft Lumia 535.
Microsoft Work & Play Bundle
Microsoft has decided to bundle together four of its most popular 12-month subscription services to create the Microsoft Work & Play Bundle. The collection of software services includes:
- Office 365 Home – with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. 1TB of cloud storage is provided for your documents thanks to a complimentary OneDrive boost.
- Skype Unlimited – this allows you to communicate with unlimited minutes to call friends and family around the globe from your laptop, tablet, phone, or TV. In addition this service provides Wi-Fi access at over 2 million hotspots worldwide.
- Xbox Live Gold – subscribers to this service receive free games, exclusive game discounts and more.
- Xbox Music Pass – provides unlimited streaming access to millions of songs, ad-free. PCs, mobile device and Xbox users can all enjoy access to this music library.
If you are a committed user to two or more of the services it might make good sense to go for this bundle. The Verge reports that the $199 Microsoft Work & Play Bundle would cost around $450 if the services were subscribed to separately. At the moment the bundle appears to be for US customers only.
Microsoft Lumia 535
Microsoft has launched its first own branded smartphone today, as expected. The Microsoft Lumia 535 is said to embody Microsoft's 5x5x5 principle which melds a 5-inch smartphone, a 5MP front and rear camera plus five free essential integrated Microsoft software services. All this is coming to customers at an "affordable price," as have all the previous Nokia branded Lumia 5XX handsets.
The Microsoft Lumia 535 features the above mentioned 5-inch IPS display with 960 x 540 pixels and coated with Gorilla Glass 3, a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage plus microSD slot, twin 5MP cameras (with LED flash on the back) and a removable 1905mAh battery. Connectivity and sensory features include; microUSB, microSIM, Bluetooth 4, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GSM and 3G data, A-GPS, A-GLONASS, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor. It comes with Windows Phone 8.1 and Nokia Denim pre-installed. The smartphone is 140 x 72 x 8.8mm in size and weighs 146g. You will be able to choose from cyan, bright green, bright orange, white, dark grey, and black colours. A dual-SIM version will also be sold.
Pricing for this new affordable smartphone has been set at €110 (about $135, £85 or AU$155). While the device debuts later this month in 'selected markets', UK users will have to wait until Q1 next year to purchase a Lumia 535.
