Microsoft Bringing Back PC/Xbox Student Deal
Microsoft is bringing back its student deal that offers a free Xbox 360 4 GB console with the purchase of a Windows 7 PC.
Students looking for a new laptop might want to wait until Microsoft re-introduces its popular Xbox 360 offer starting this Sunday, May 20. The campaign provides a free 4 GB Xbox 360 console to students who purchase a qualifying Windows 7-based PC. The offer will be available while supplies last at Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, Dell.com, HPDirect.com, Microsoft Stores and NewEgg.com.
"Together, a Windows 7-based PC and an Xbox 360 console provide students the functionality they need for school while also helping them stay connected to friends and family far away," Microsoft said on Friday. "To take advantage of this offer, students or their parents must provide valid student identification as defined by the participating retailer. Participating retailers may change over the course of the promotion."
Microsoft didn't say which Windows 7-based PCs would qualify for the promotion, but did happen to mention the "thin and light" Dell XPS 13, HP ENVY15 and Samsung Series 5 ULTRA as examples. Unlike last year, Microsoft faces stagnant sales this summer/fall until Windows 8 rears its head later this year. Many students may choose to wait for a Windows 8 machine, thus seemingly pushing Microsoft to resurrect its PC/Xbox combo deal before then.
Additionally, students who purchase a Windows 7 PC starting next month may be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $15. As pointed out on Tuesday, Microsoft hasn't officially announced the $15 upgrade deal, and the discount doesn't apply unless the machine is purchased after June 2. Even Microsoft says the former Xbox deal will only be good while supplies last, so whether it will still be available by June 2 or not is up in the air at this point. It'll all depend on consumer response. It would certainly be an awesome deal to purchase the PC/Xbox bundle and get the Windows 8 Pro upgrade.
Microsoft's PC/Xbox bundle campaign actually starts today in Canada, available at Best Buy, Dell.ca, Future Shop, Staples and The Source. Customers in both the U.S. and Canada can check with participating retailers for more information about this offer. As previously stated, participating retailers may change over the course of the promotion.
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Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more.
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RipperjackAU Good way to clear out old inventory of both XBox and Windows, ahead of new product releases.Reply -
beayn Man students got it good. When I was in college there were no deals.. it was $150 for Windows 95 or 98 and $1500 for a low low end PC with 32 megs of RAM.Reply
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JOSHSKORN Way to push "lets have everyone get an XBOX 360 and make it a whole media center hub" yet only with a 4 GB HD.Reply
I hope the XBOX 720 has a massive hard drive if MS wants to turn it into a HD DVR as well. I'm thinking at least 3-4 TB to start. Then you have to record more advanced game data as well. -
DroKing MSFT when will you stop gimping your deals? If its 250 gb then YAY but 4gb for a 10 yrs old console really? LMAOReply -
jezus53 Has no one ever heard of an external hard drive? I would much rather keep all of my files on an external and be able to use it on any device I wish, where ever I wish, whenever I wish rather than have it stuck on the xbox.Reply -
blazorthon jezus53Has no one ever heard of an external hard drive? I would much rather keep all of my files on an external and be able to use it on any device I wish, where ever I wish, whenever I wish rather than have it stuck on the xbox.Reply
Meaning that you have to buy it, almost ruining the point of the free Xbox, to not have to buy it and it's peripherals. -
universal remonster I'm selling my free console to a local video game store. I view it as a $125 cash rebate on my laptop =)Reply -
blazorthon universal remonsterI'm selling my free console to a local video game store. I view it as a $125 cash rebate on my laptop =)Reply
Now that I can agree with. -
rajaawad23 people here are so negative, its a good offer, not everyone needs a big HDD, I stream media from my pc for example. btw, I dont see apple offering deals anywhere near as good as this.Reply