It wasn't that long ago that Microsoft announced that they would even be producing a tablet based off of Windows 8. They did not announce the prices in June, during the initial announcement. However, the wait is over for the first line of Surface tablets, which run a significantly trimmed down version of Windows 8, known as Windows RT. The release of information, sadly, only applies to this version of the Surface. The full fledged version is still under wraps.

Microsoft has fallen from the position of the biggest technology company on the block. That title now belongs to Apple. As such, they have had to adjust their market strategy. As the PC market has matured, and aged, new technologies have come to replace the desktop, and even the laptop. Tablets, phablets, and smart phones are all the rage, and are good at what they do. To make a bad situation worse (for Microsoft), Apple now has a 12% share of the PC market, up from 3% 10 years ago.

Sprint has been purchased by the Japanese firm Softbank, as announced in a joint press meeting with the CEOs of both companies. Softbank will be purchasing 70% of the shares of Sprint for the staggering sum of $20.1 Billion dollars. This large chunk of change will directly revitalize Sprint, the underdog, when compared to Verizon or AT&T. Softbank, one of the larger mobile communication firms in Japan will gain access to the American market, which is less mature than the Japanese mobile market.

Sprint is staying competitive by debuting a brand new service ahead of Verizon, AT&T or T Mobile. This new service, known as “StarStar Me”, allows users to essentially do away with conventional phone numbers. In addition to letting users replace their number with a handle, it allows for easy auto-reply text messages. Through the Apple/Android app that can be downloaded, users can also screen or block incoming calls, or edit the auto-reply text messages. The only downside? This feature only works from Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, or T-Mobile phones.