14 DAY TRIAL // If you're living in Brazil and you're currently using Google as your everyday search engine, you might want to at least give Bing a chance, as Microsoft has started offering some free goodies to those who do that.
A short post on Slashdot reveals that Microsoft is giving Brazilian users 2 American dollars (2 euros) to configure Bing as the default search engine and MSN as the home page in their browsers. The credit comes in the form of 60 minutes of free calls on Skype to mobile phones and landlines, a notification posted on the official MSN Brazil page reads.
"After receiving the voucher, this should be used until July 31, 2014. Once on Skype, the credits do not expire. The minutes are based on a rate of $ 0.023 per minute, but the number of minutes may vary depending on the destination of the call and the number of calls you make. The current value of the voucher is $2.00," the campaign rules read.
It appears that the offer is only available to Microsoft users in Brazil and consumers living in any other country do not qualify.
This isn't the first time Microsoft is trying to bribe users to try out one of its new products and the last time it did it, the company was pushing consumers still running Windows XP to Windows 8.1 with the help of $100 (73 euros) discounts on new PC sales.
At the same time, earlier this year the company expanded the Bing Rewards program to Android and iPhone users in order to allow consumers who purchased such a mobile device to earn points and redeem them for gifts if they use Bing on a regular basis.
That's actually the purpose of the Bing Rewards service. Microsoft is encouraging consumers to switch to its products in exchange for points that can be then used for buying gifts, mostly products developed by the company.
"Earn credits toward rewards by searching with Bing as well as taking advantage of offers which help you discover the many ways Bing can help you get things done. Check your offers to see the number of credits you can earn by searching Bing and for information on all the other ways you can earn. Search and take advantage of offers each day to maximize the credits you earn," Microsoft says in the Bing Rewards product FAQ.
At this point, Bing Rewards is only available in the United States, but Microsoft has promised to expand it into some other countries in the coming years.