Best Buy Announces Windows 8 Launch Offers, Exclusives
Best Buy has invested a lot of time and money into making sure it's your one-stop shop for all Windows 8.
Best Buy is cashing in on the Windows 8 hype by offering special promotions and 45 exclusive Windows 8 products during the big launch on Friday, October 26.
For starters, the retailer has said that consumers can get at least $100 toward an Intel-inspired Ultrabook when they trade in a working laptop. Customers simply scan through a list provided online to find the value of their laptop, and then trade it in at a physical store or through Best Buy's website. The reward is a gift card that can be used against the Ultrabook's pricetag, and a cleaner environment thanks to the recycling of your old portable machine.
This Trade-In and Save program starts October 26, and ends November 17, Best Buy said.
Best Buy is also offering a complete PC home makeover from Samsung for $1,999 USD. This "makeover" includes the Samsung Series 5 Touch Screen Ultrabook, the Samsung Series 5 Touch Screen All-In-One and the Samsung Series 5 Laptop. Also thrown into this bundle is one year of Geek Squad Tech Support, Internet Security Software to protect against viruses and a PC-to-PC data transfer.
In addition to those two offers, Best Buy will knock $200 off an HP Premium Touch Windows 8 Ultrabook, and $200 off a Gateway All-In-One for the first three full days (Oct 26 to Oct 28). The company will also provide free Windows 8 video tutorials offering helpful tips about the new OS.
"Geek Squad Tech Support members (currently about 2.4 million) also will have exclusive access to a new online library of more than 60,000 video tutorials featuring Windows 8, and other popular software and technology topics beginning Oct. 26," the company said on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal adds that Best Buy has invested around 50,000 hours in Windows 8 training for the staff and Geek Squad members. Each store will also have at least one "Microsoft Adviser" who has undergone extensive training, and roughly 20-percent of the company's 1,100 stores will actually have Microsoft personnel on hand.
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The paper also reports that Best Buy will provide an "experience table" at the front of each store so that consumers can walk in and experience the new OS first-hand. Only 30-percent of the products will have touch initially.
Jason Bonfig, Best Buy's vice president for computing, said there may be more angst for customers because of the lack of familiarity. "Our staff is there to coach them through it," he added.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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webbwbb I will try to fix the title for you...Reply
"Best Buy Attempts to Create Hype for Windows 8 in Order to Save Brick & Mortar Stores" -
esrever kind of sad that someone would post 2 comments 1 after another just to hate on something.Reply -
billgatez Id rather hold on to my old laptop as those Windows 7 keys will be like gold when MS stops making Win 7.Reply
I also got a chuckle out of the phrase Windows 8 hype. -
damianrobertjones I'm finding Windows 8 fantastic and so are the other testers in work. Funny really as we're just simply using the operating system and it's really quite good. Was that too positive for a few of you? :)Reply -
damianrobertjones P.s. You have to be careful on Toms as people change their account name and then multiple post. Massive negative trend startsReply -
webbwbb damianrobertjonesI'm finding Windows 8 fantastic and so are the other testers in work. Funny really as we're just simply using the operating system and it's really quite good. Was that too positive for a few of you?Reply
I have had quite the opposite experience. I and everyone I know who has used the preview has hated it. You are in fact the first person I have heard of who actually liked it. -
memadmax I won't pirate windows either, RC was good enough for me...Reply
Besides that, me and the IT department head agreed that retraining everyone over a windows 7 patch was not compelling enough, oh and the social plugins are detrimental to work productivity as well...
We need people to get work done, faster, not everyone posting how ugly their boss is on facebook......... -
back_by_demand webbwbbI have had quite the opposite experience. I and everyone I know who has used the preview has hated it. You are in fact the first person I have heard of who actually liked it.There are more than a few, but the people that like it are almost frightened to post due to the bully tactics of the vocal haters, it isn't a popularity contestReply
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An article on The Register said it well:-
You can also expect the howls of dismay from users trying Windows 8 for the first time to quieten eventually as world+dog gets more used to Microsoft's latest effort.
The bullies that think they are right because they have a few bandwagoners will drift away and leave just a hardcore bunch of Apple or Google paid sycophants when from the expected 360 million+ PC's that are sold each year, next year at least 200 million have Windows 8 pre-installed, people get used to it, like it, and the bandwagoners just STFU for a change
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Bullies never win