Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft has already been hitting the ground running with its massive marketing campaign for Windows 8 during the past couple of months. Apparently the company wants to spread the word about their new upcoming operating system — who knew? So, it may be no surprise that Microsoft is estimated of having spent anywhere between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion on its Windows 8 marketing campaign.

If those figures are correct, it would be the largest marketing campaign of any product product. Plus, compare it to the measly $200 million Microsoft spent to market Windows 95 and you have quite the gap between the company’s past products and today’s Windows 8. Longtime Microsoft analyst Rob Enderle says, “the marketing effort is on a scale you don’t see outside presidential elections.”

However, Enderle also notes that Windows 8 is a “a big risk” since Windows 8 could easily flop if there’s any aspect of negative resistance from consumers. Then again, other analysts think that Microsoft is doing everything right, saying that Metro and RT are the future, and making Windows 8 a universal OS that can be used on both tablets and PCs is the way to go.

Microsoft is focusing a lot on the cloud and tablet computing in Windows 8, and those are the two big changes that users will notice with Windows 8. Microsoft is putting a greater emphasis on touchscreen navigation and is making Windows 8 more tablet-like and optimizing the OS for mobile devices. Hopefully the company can get that message across clearly to consumers with their billion-dollar marketing campaign.

[via Forbes]

Windows 8 marketing campaign estimated at $1.5b is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While the whole world is busy checking out the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, here we are with something from the bowels of the Land of the Rising Sun – with Samsung and NTT DoCoMo rolling out a spanking new Samsung Galaxy S3 model, calling it the “Samsung Galaxy S3 Alpha”. Just what in the manner of all things Android is the Samsung Galaxy S3 Alpha? Well, it seems that this particular version of the Galaxy S3 will not only arrive in a different shade, but will also carry similar hardware that is found in the Galaxy Note 2.

Sporting a similar Exynos 4412 1.6GHz quad-core processor that rocks the Galaxy Note 2, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Alpha will also be accompanied by 2GB RAM, making it the superior version of the Galaxy S3 which originally ships with a 1.4GHz processor and 1GB RAM. Not only that, one ought to take note that you will also get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box with this puppy, in addition to LTE compatibility. There is no word on pricing details as at press time, and neither do we know whether the Samsung Galaxy S3 Alpha will arrive in the US or across the pond, but we will do our best to look out for more information.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy S3 Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update hits South Korea, Samsung Galaxy S3 64GB spotted, going for €799 a pop,

Say hello to the world’s most visited destination—Times Square in New York City. This single attraction hosts more visitors every year than Canadia has residents. This collection of shots from our friends at Oobject illustrate the Square’s radical evolution over the past century from former NYT publishing house to giant, glitter ball-topped billboard. More »

Chris Roberts, the iconic game designer whose work you may have seen in Wing Commander and Privateer, is making a comeback after spending almost a decade out of the game industry to design a new space-themed MMO called Star Citizen. However, he needs $2 million in crowd funds in order to continue development of the game, but so far that doesn’t seem like a problem.

Roberts announced today that after just two days, over 4,000 backers have given almost $500,000 in pledges. The campaign still has a month to go, and the developing company has already reached a quarter of their goal after two days. It’s very impressive to say the least, and it shows how passionate the gaming community is for great games.

Roberts also mentioned that many buyers have given more than $250 in order to get a bunch of goodies, that includes a spaceship-shaped USB stick of game, CD of the game’s soundtrack, a fold-up glossy full color map of the game’s universe, a set of five ship blueprints, a 3-inch physical model of the in-game ship, and a hardback-bound 42-page book called ‘The Making of Star Citizen’.

Also, if you take a look at the different pledge categories, almost all of them say an estimated delivery date of November 2014, which is most likely the date that the full game will release to the public. The early alpha version of the game is said to arrive sometime next year, and will be available for free to the first 200,000 backers who pledge $30 or more.

[via Joystiq]

Star Citizen has already raised almost $500,000 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week its becoming clear that the Japanese wireless service provider known as SoftBank is ready and willing to take a giant stab at the US marker with Sprint as is readies 23 billion dollars in borrowed cash for a bid. By acquiring Sprint, SoftBank has been tipped to be gaining favor with a variety of hardware manufacturers, this allowing them to grab high-tiered smartphones and tablets for their own brand in Japan. Meanwhile it would appear that the deal is “a must-do deal” for Sprint while for SoftBank it simply isn’t so – this idea coming from Yasuo Sakuma, portfolio manager at Bayview Asset Management in Tokyo, adding “it’s going to be very difficult to turn Sprint around.”

Sakuma of course refers to Sprint’s recent not-so-fabulous showing in the market as US-based Verizon and AT&T continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Meanwhile 4th runner-up T-Mobile continues talks to acquire Metro PCS, they together running up ever closer to Sprint’s third-place standing in the states. Sakuma added that, “the strong yen is probably one of the reasons for SoftBank to acquire overseas assets, but I don’t think this deal will be good for SoftBank.”

With a massive $23 billion in loans to finance this purchase, SoftBank has been warned that they’ll have “unacceptably high” levels of debt – so says a brokerage speaking with Rueters on the matter. This adds to the madness that is Sprint’s market value jumping by $2 billion at news this week of SoftBank’s acquisition talks, this bringing the US-based company up to $17 billion in value altogether.

Sprint also currently has a net debt of around $15 billion while SoftBank’s current net debt sits at $10 billion. Banking business group Societe Generale sent a note out this week on the deal saying that “This deal simply appears to be driven by Masayoshi Son’s belief that Sprint Nextel is too cheap, and little more.” Masayoshi is the current CEO and founder of SoftBank.

SoftBank plans $23 billion for Sprint bid is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.