Buy any Windows Phone 7 model, get a free Xbox 360 game
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Anyone who picks up a Windows Phone 7 starting today on through the rest of the month can snag a free Xbox 360 game on Microsoft. The contest page lists four eligible games as part of this deal, two of which can only be played with Kinect: Fable 3, Halo: Reach, Kinectimals and Kinect Joy Ride. It's hardly incentive enough to yank anybody down off the fence, but it's a good deal if you were going to get a WP7 handset this month anyway.
Reader Comments (59)
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:03PM Gritzor said
Besides XBL, can anyone tell me why I would pick this up over my iPhone 4?
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:09PM PR0F3TA said
@Gritzor
well i can tell you what Apple haters would tell you, but the truth is that there is ZERO reasons for someone to switch from iPhone 4 to WP7 besides just making up lies about why they did. Theres almost zero reasons to switch from Android from iOS unless widgets and a pretty home screen mean that much to you.
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well i can tell you what Apple haters would tell you, but the truth is that there is ZERO reasons for someone to switch from iPhone 4 to WP7 besides just making up lies about why they did. Theres almost zero reasons to switch from Android from iOS unless widgets and a pretty home screen mean that much to you.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:21PM Rollins said
@Gritzor Sure. There are a number of things WP7 does better than the iPhone at the moment. Granted, the reverse is also true, but that's not what you asked, so here goes...
1) Zune integration. If you have a Zune subscription, you can play those songs on a WP7 phone. Or perhaps you prefer the Zune software to iTunes (and if you're using Windows, I'd recommend giving it a try).
2) Quicker access to data. This is dependent on the apps you use, but WP7 applications can show data on the home screen using Live Tiles. Google it, it's pretty cool.
3) If you want a hardware keyboard, an iPhone won't do it for you.
4) Carrier flexibility; Verizon will have the HTC Trophy with WP7 soon, Sprint's getting the HTC 7 Pro, and T-Mobile already has a couple of phones. Verizon might get the iPhone soon, but Sprint and T-Mobile aren't going to.
5) Better notifications; the iPhone throws every notification right in your face over whatever you're doing. WP7 shows them in the status bar, similar to Android.
WP7 isn't perfect (no copy/paste yet, no true multitasking), but it has its strengths. It's a bit of a middle ground between the highly constrained iPhone environment and the Wild West that is Android.
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1) Zune integration. If you have a Zune subscription, you can play those songs on a WP7 phone. Or perhaps you prefer the Zune software to iTunes (and if you're using Windows, I'd recommend giving it a try).
2) Quicker access to data. This is dependent on the apps you use, but WP7 applications can show data on the home screen using Live Tiles. Google it, it's pretty cool.
3) If you want a hardware keyboard, an iPhone won't do it for you.
4) Carrier flexibility; Verizon will have the HTC Trophy with WP7 soon, Sprint's getting the HTC 7 Pro, and T-Mobile already has a couple of phones. Verizon might get the iPhone soon, but Sprint and T-Mobile aren't going to.
5) Better notifications; the iPhone throws every notification right in your face over whatever you're doing. WP7 shows them in the status bar, similar to Android.
WP7 isn't perfect (no copy/paste yet, no true multitasking), but it has its strengths. It's a bit of a middle ground between the highly constrained iPhone environment and the Wild West that is Android.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:41PM KeegdnaB said
@Gritzor Any argument that starts with "well the haters (or fanboys) will tell you...." is invalid. No seriously, all you're dong in projecting your own fanboyism away onto someone else.
Instead of asking trolls, do your own research. If more people did that we might not have so many obnoxious fanboys cause people buy the phone that's right for them without feeling the need to justify it against another one.
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Instead of asking trolls, do your own research. If more people did that we might not have so many obnoxious fanboys cause people buy the phone that's right for them without feeling the need to justify it against another one.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 4:03PM BananaBoat said
@Gritzor -Honestly? Keyboard, and screen size are the two biggest reasons. If you desire a bigger screen, and a keyboard, your choices are kind of down to WP7 or Android right now (until Jobs comes out with the iPhone 4.3" with keyboard attachment and a 4.3" screen)
Other than that, for what people do with their phones, there is no real reason to dump the iPhone 4 for a WP7 phone. Your tweets aren't going to be any more poignant, and your status updates aren't going to be any more revelatory coming from WP7 instead of iOS.
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Other than that, for what people do with their phones, there is no real reason to dump the iPhone 4 for a WP7 phone. Your tweets aren't going to be any more poignant, and your status updates aren't going to be any more revelatory coming from WP7 instead of iOS.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 4:26PM Debley said
@Gritzor
ive got a HTC 7 Mozart (Win 7) and a 3rd gen iPod Touch i mean both are brilliant at what they do, the iPod has got the selectiong of apps whereas becuaes the Mozart and Win Mo 7 has only just been released its got a good sum of apps but they need some more and some big names aswell. the xbox live games on WinMo 7 are great i mean the pricing stucture is a little weird but the quality of games is great. im playing Crackdown: Project Sunburst which is a great addictive game.
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ive got a HTC 7 Mozart (Win 7) and a 3rd gen iPod Touch i mean both are brilliant at what they do, the iPod has got the selectiong of apps whereas becuaes the Mozart and Win Mo 7 has only just been released its got a good sum of apps but they need some more and some big names aswell. the xbox live games on WinMo 7 are great i mean the pricing stucture is a little weird but the quality of games is great. im playing Crackdown: Project Sunburst which is a great addictive game.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 5:21PM SeNiLe911 said
I had no problem switching! Love my new WP7, just wish I got it under this deal!!
To make this deal even sweeter, you can buy a WP7 for a penny!!! http://n4g.com/news/666802/get-a-windows-phone-7-on-atandt-xbox-360-game-for-only-0-01/com
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To make this deal even sweeter, you can buy a WP7 for a penny!!! http://n4g.com/news/666802/get-a-windows-phone-7-on-atandt-xbox-360-game-for-only-0-01/com
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 10:00PM xXHexagonXx said
@Gritzor I can't think of any reason to switch from droid or iphone...
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Posted: Dec 19th 2010 4:56PM Tachyonic Cargo said
@Gritzor I hope they bring this deal back next spring after the two scheduled WP7 updates, and the dual-core WP7 phones hit the market.
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Posted: Jan 6th 2011 4:50AM JasonGW said
@Gritzor As a 2 years+ iPhone veteran, I'll tell you this: when I went to buy an iPhone 4 and took a little time to play with it side by side with WP7, I was shocked by how much faster, sleeker and more usable WP7 is. I ended up buying the Samsung Focus, which has a nicer screen (side by side it *embarrasses* the iPhone 4's screen simply by outclassing its black levels and crisp, vivid colors that iPhone 4 simply can't touch) which is a fair bit larger, is lighter and more comfortable in the hand, and just plain *sings* it's so fast. The Zune software on the phone is hands down better than the iTunes/iPod software on iPhone as well.
The real question you should be asking is, why *wouldn't* I swap an iPhone for a Windows Phone 7 device (especially if it's the Focus; some of the other models don't have as nice of screen or body, though they're all crazy fast). iPhone's sole advantage seems to be the number of apps it has available, but you know what? You can use those on an iPod with no problems.
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The real question you should be asking is, why *wouldn't* I swap an iPhone for a Windows Phone 7 device (especially if it's the Focus; some of the other models don't have as nice of screen or body, though they're all crazy fast). iPhone's sole advantage seems to be the number of apps it has available, but you know what? You can use those on an iPod with no problems.
Posted: Feb 25th 2011 9:55AM davidvkimball said
@Rollins Well put! That's a spot-on evaluation. My LG Quantum's physical keyboard can simply not be replaced. In addition, I think it's fair to bring up the Xbox Live hub, which fully integrates with your Xbox Live account. A large incentive to play games on WP7, to get achievements and increase gamerscore.
Your about Zune is also legitimate. Zune is a WAY better music player than others out there! I've been using it since 2007.
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Your about Zune is also legitimate. Zune is a WAY better music player than others out there! I've been using it since 2007.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:07PM PR0F3TA said
WP7 is selling baddly, in canada they gave away free 4gig 360 models. Who can blame them thought, they entered when Apple and Google are at their prime. Its like Sega releasing a console this year... and in my opinion WP7 isn't anything special to begin with. iOS and Android give people enough options that WP7 doesn't.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:43PM Huey2k2 said
@PR0F3TA
"Who can blame them thought, they entered when Apple and Google are at their prime. Its like Sega releasing a console this year... "
You are aware the Windows Mobile was one of the original smart phone OS's and has been around forever right? Much longer than either Apple or Google has. This is just their reboot of the Windows Mobile platform(which was desperately needed).
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"Who can blame them thought, they entered when Apple and Google are at their prime. Its like Sega releasing a console this year... "
You are aware the Windows Mobile was one of the original smart phone OS's and has been around forever right? Much longer than either Apple or Google has. This is just their reboot of the Windows Mobile platform(which was desperately needed).
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:49PM KeegdnaB said
@PR0F3TA Where's your evidence that it's selly poorly? They haven't released sales numbers "oh but that means they're scared to"
Actually, they are. Because even if the numbers are in line with Microsoft's own projections (which I expect they are), any number less than 1,000,000 will be used by all the Apple biased tech journalists as "proof" of it being a failure because they WANT them to fail and will go out of their way to spin the facts and say they are (they're like cable news of either political pursuasion). Why should Microsoft give them (or you) the satisfaction of knowing the numbers when they'll be used against them regardless. The only people entitled to sales numbers are their stockholders who will be told at the appropriate time. Right now they're focusing on selling a product based on its quality, not its percieved popularity
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Actually, they are. Because even if the numbers are in line with Microsoft's own projections (which I expect they are), any number less than 1,000,000 will be used by all the Apple biased tech journalists as "proof" of it being a failure because they WANT them to fail and will go out of their way to spin the facts and say they are (they're like cable news of either political pursuasion). Why should Microsoft give them (or you) the satisfaction of knowing the numbers when they'll be used against them regardless. The only people entitled to sales numbers are their stockholders who will be told at the appropriate time. Right now they're focusing on selling a product based on its quality, not its percieved popularity
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:19PM PR0F3TA said
@Huey2k2
you're right, i was born yesterday and never heard of Windows Mobile or CE... nevermind that RIM, Palm and Danger had mobile OS aswell, but we're not debating the history of mobile OS here. I used Sega as a PERFECT example because they too also use to make consoles but lost because of competitors. Windows Mobile had almost no market share wthin the last 2 years... Windows Mobile was not a good mobile OS for the mainstream hence the departure from the whole Windows Mobile code and into a new Windows Phone 7 OS.
you want sales numbers look them up, Engadget is a perfect place to start.
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you're right, i was born yesterday and never heard of Windows Mobile or CE... nevermind that RIM, Palm and Danger had mobile OS aswell, but we're not debating the history of mobile OS here. I used Sega as a PERFECT example because they too also use to make consoles but lost because of competitors. Windows Mobile had almost no market share wthin the last 2 years... Windows Mobile was not a good mobile OS for the mainstream hence the departure from the whole Windows Mobile code and into a new Windows Phone 7 OS.
you want sales numbers look them up, Engadget is a perfect place to start.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:21PM PR0F3TA said
@PR0F3TA
"now they're focusing on selling a product based on its quality, not its percieved popularity"
this made me laugh so hard. yeah Microsoft is putting the quality of its phone before the quantity they sell. lol... its why they give out free games and systems with any activation... because of the quality.
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"now they're focusing on selling a product based on its quality, not its percieved popularity"
this made me laugh so hard. yeah Microsoft is putting the quality of its phone before the quantity they sell. lol... its why they give out free games and systems with any activation... because of the quality.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 9:10PM AntiVillian said
@PR0F3TA
^ this man is making more sense than you guys, look at your comments again, seriously.
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^ this man is making more sense than you guys, look at your comments again, seriously.
Posted: Dec 19th 2010 6:36AM Prboi said
@PR0F3TA
You know, you would think that in this downed economy, a free game would be a good thing. Regardless of what you think, MS is making a deal worth getting. Especially with the holidays around. It doesn't have to do with sales or quality of the product. MS is offering a deal so more people can buy there phone & give the game as a gift. I don't know why you guys are bickering about which OS is "better". You choose what you like. You like iPhone, get an iPhone. You like Windows Phone 7, get Windows Phone 7. You like Android, get Android. Fact is, you're not getting paid to do advertising for Microsoft, Apple or Google so there's really no point in trying to prove somebody "wrong" because you're just wasting your time.
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You know, you would think that in this downed economy, a free game would be a good thing. Regardless of what you think, MS is making a deal worth getting. Especially with the holidays around. It doesn't have to do with sales or quality of the product. MS is offering a deal so more people can buy there phone & give the game as a gift. I don't know why you guys are bickering about which OS is "better". You choose what you like. You like iPhone, get an iPhone. You like Windows Phone 7, get Windows Phone 7. You like Android, get Android. Fact is, you're not getting paid to do advertising for Microsoft, Apple or Google so there's really no point in trying to prove somebody "wrong" because you're just wasting your time.
Posted: Dec 20th 2010 9:34AM Fermie Prime said
@PR0F3TA
When Android was launched you didn't hear much about them either. These things take time. Android really didn't take off until Motorola released the Droid, and that was, what? a year after launch? Android's sucess can also be attributed to the shear amount of phones manufacturers have made. You're going to see more growth on the WP7 platform this coming year once Verizon and Sprint get their phones, and the already-announced firmware updates are released. Supposedly sometime in the middle of next year (around Aug - Sept 11') Microsoft is releasing a huge upgrade to the software. Its going to be so big there has been talk it could be called WP8. But we'll see. I have a WP7 and I love it. The interface alone blows iOS out of the water.
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When Android was launched you didn't hear much about them either. These things take time. Android really didn't take off until Motorola released the Droid, and that was, what? a year after launch? Android's sucess can also be attributed to the shear amount of phones manufacturers have made. You're going to see more growth on the WP7 platform this coming year once Verizon and Sprint get their phones, and the already-announced firmware updates are released. Supposedly sometime in the middle of next year (around Aug - Sept 11') Microsoft is releasing a huge upgrade to the software. Its going to be so big there has been talk it could be called WP8. But we'll see. I have a WP7 and I love it. The interface alone blows iOS out of the water.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:12PM mbarriault said
Just a game? Telus is offering whole Xboxes with WP7 phones.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:59PM Ballistic H said
@mbarriault
^This. In Canada, the Xbox 360 S 4GB for free
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^This. In Canada, the Xbox 360 S 4GB for free
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:57PM BananaBoat said
@Ballistic H - Damn...that's better than the free bumper I got with my iPhone 4 for sure. Then again, I'm not Canadian, so I couldn't take advantage of the deal even if I wanted to.
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Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:28PM Jovrick said
They should just flip that deal around: buy a Xbox 360 game and get a free Windows Phone 7 phone.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:34PM KinseySS said
Our local provider Telus here in Canada is giving away Xbox 360 consoles for signing up to a new Win 7 phone.
http://www.telusmobility.com/en/BC/promotions/xbox.shtml?INTCMP=HomeBANXbox
http://www.telusmobility.com/en/BC/promotions/xbox.shtml?INTCMP=HomeBANXbox
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:46PM pluupy said
For the love of...I just bought a friggin' HTC JUST the other day.
*readies noose*
*readies noose*
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:57PM HissingNewt said
@pluupy Yeah, I got a Samsung Focus 3 days ago. This sucks.
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Posted: Dec 18th 2010 4:15PM BananaBoat said
@HissingNewt - I'm pretty sure you've got like 30 days to return the phone and cancel service. Whether or not it is worth bothering in order to get a free game is up to you though.
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Posted: Dec 20th 2010 9:56AM Fermie Prime said
@pluupy
Same here. Bought two HD7's last week. I DID get a BOGO free on them, but it woulda been sweet to get a game too.
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Same here. Bought two HD7's last week. I DID get a BOGO free on them, but it woulda been sweet to get a game too.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:54PM Mazrael said
did look into a WP7, but I don't use my phone nearly enough to warrant a contract phone let alone a 'smart phone'
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:55PM The Tim said
@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my
I'm about to leave the house and go check one out. My old blackberry is showing its age and I don't want an iphone mainly due to the lack of a physical keyboard. Plus being able to earn achievements on the go is very tempting.
Unfortunately unless I want to stay with blackberry or get an android phone, I'm going to have to switch providers. I'm on US Cellular now and they're not big enough to get the newest hottest phones.
My mind isn't made up by a long shot, but I'm definitely being tempted
I'm about to leave the house and go check one out. My old blackberry is showing its age and I don't want an iphone mainly due to the lack of a physical keyboard. Plus being able to earn achievements on the go is very tempting.
Unfortunately unless I want to stay with blackberry or get an android phone, I'm going to have to switch providers. I'm on US Cellular now and they're not big enough to get the newest hottest phones.
My mind isn't made up by a long shot, but I'm definitely being tempted
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 2:55PM Mazrael said
and Halo Reach or Fable 3 are hardly going to steer me .. I already own those
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:40PM Jack Kevorkian said
@Mazrael Dammit as a MS rep we forgot to send you a questionnaire. We sent one to all 3 billion of our customers and each person needed at least one of these games. How we could have missed YOU is a complete failure on our part and we apologize. Please accept this brown bag of well wishes from your number one fan.
Sincere love and admiration,
Microsoft
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Sincere love and admiration,
Microsoft
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:09PM Jay Z said
Why not give us a free game that works on the phone?
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:13PM Faceless Troll said
So either games I've already beaten or can't use? Hilarious.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 3:43PM Jack Kevorkian said
@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my There is no catch they are just trying to gain a foothold in an extremely competitive market. W7 is such an improvement I considered this but I needed a phone right away and blackberry was the way to go for me. I wish I could have waited a couple of weeks more but business is what business is.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 4:01PM Alexisonfire said
Anyone in Canada looking to get a Windows Phone 7 should hit this up in the next 24 hours. You get a free 4 GB 360 instead of just a game.
Offer ends tomorrow.
Offer ends tomorrow.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 6:29PM Alexisonfire said
@BrianH
Don't buy a phone to get a 360. But if you are buying a phone ( this exact phone, in fact) and getting a three year contract, then you would probably like a free 360 instead of nothing.
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Don't buy a phone to get a 360. But if you are buying a phone ( this exact phone, in fact) and getting a three year contract, then you would probably like a free 360 instead of nothing.
Posted: Dec 18th 2010 5:09PM Ordeith said
Never let myself get locked into that particular mess. Kept me free to use whatever platform I want. I like to keep it that way. Plenty of alternatives to iTunes, even for iOS people.








