Redmondians are getting ready for the shopping season with some special offers

Nov 19, 2012 07:39 GMT  ·  By

In case you’re planning to buy a Surface or an Xbox 360 gaming console, Black Friday is the right moment to do it, as Microsoft has prepared some very interesting deals for US customers.

Aside from the Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Holiday Bundle sold for $199 (€155), the software company will also offer the Surface tablet at some very special prices.

According to a scan of the Microsoft Store Black Friday 2012 Ad published by SlickDeals, the first 100 Surface units sold on November 23 get a free Surface sleeve worth $49.99 (€39).

In addition, if you opt for the whole Surface bundle, which includes the available Microsoft accessories, you also receive $50 (€39) off a second Touch Cover. While such an offer could sound a bit silly, it’s not, at least not with so many reports claiming that the Surface keyboard is suddenly breaking down.

The good news is that all Surface versions are again back in stock across the United States, after the cheapest model, the one sold for $499 (€380) and coming with 32 GB of storage space, was sold out in less than 24 hours after Microsoft officially debuted the pre-order campaign.

The device is available in three different flavors, two with 32 GB of storage space (with or without a Black Touch Cover) and one featuring 64 GB of storage. The most expensive model is priced at $699 (€548) and it also includes Microsoft’s magic keyboard.

As for sales, it’s yet unclear whether the Surface is a successful product or not, as Microsoft remains tight-lipped on the official sales figures.

If we are to consider the success of the pre-order program, the Surface is clearly a very appealing tablet, but sources familiar with the matter have hinted that sales are rather modest in the first months of availability.

Third-party surveys, on the other hand, have indicated that Microsoft’s Surface is the most popular Windows 8 device to date, with sales stats expected to be increased even more in early 2013.