This week was quite eventful for the tech sector, with a lot of significant developments related to major companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). We analyze a few such developments which could impact their value in the coming years.
Microsoft
Microsoft saw a lot of important developments in the recent past. It released the Release Preview version of Windows 8, which is slated to launch later in October. It also announced that more than 600 million licenses of Windows 7 have been sold to date, which makes it one of Microsoft’s biggest hits to date.
It also unveiled SmartGlass for the Xbox 360, which is an app for mobile devices and PCs which lets you control and interact with content on the console. It also announced a significant milestone for Windows Phone, which hit the 100,000 app landmark.
Check out our complete analysis of Microsoft.
Amazon
Amazon also had an exciting week. It launched a software update for the $79 Kindle, which brings a number of updates to the device. More importantly, it bought a book publisher, Avalon Books, which furthers its hold in the book publishing business, and also adds around 3,000 titles to its repository.
It also made Instant Video, its streaming video service, available on the Xbox 360 via an app which makes it easy for Live Gold subscribers to search for and play movies. This could boost Amazon’s digital content sales by leveraging the sizable Xbox Live subscriber base.
