This week's new Xbox releases aren't new. In fact, most of them have been around for a while and you might even own a few by now. What gives? As it turns out Gameloft is doing something special for this week and it's something bargain hunters will want to get in on: discounts to almost their entire collection of Xbox games for Windows Phone.

For the last few weeks, Microsoft has been suffering at the hands of media and user backlash from the Xbox One. We've known since May that the console would be incorporating a few new restrictions like an internet connection being required for the console to 'check in' once every 24 hours, and the fact that users would have to pay a small fee in order to play a used game.

However the issue has been magnified to a whole new level since E3 2013 last week, thanks to the likes of its main next-gen console competitor Sony. The company has been running an impressive campaign to bill the PlayStation 4 as the "anti-Xbox One", so to speak, with no restrictions on how you play games. In a stunning reversal, Microsoft has announced unexpected changes today to the console's most controversial policies.

Microsoft's Surface RT has been a fascinating failure. The ARM-based tablet offers competitive hardware in its price range, but was panned by critics for its iffy NVIDIA Tegra 3-based performance and relative lack of apps in the Windows Store. While the Surface Pro has been much better received, no one expects Microsoft to give up on Windows RT and that applies to the Surface RT too. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft has enlisted Qualcomm for the next round and The Verge has heard it's going to use one of the silicon maker's best chipsets.

In case you needed a reason to pay attention to the world of Windows Phone on July 11th, Nokia has just delivered an extra 40 million on top of that. In a wink-wink nudge-nudge message on the company's official Nokia Conversations blog, they dropped in the teaser image you see above.

We hope we don't have to spell it out for you, but for those who might be out of the loop lets just say that 'million' can also refer to 'megapixels' whenever Nokia is involved. The blog also announced they will be offering a live stream of the event on their site, as well as the opportunity for phone users to watch it live on their Lumias. It's not clear at this time how they plan to do the latter, but we'll no doubt learn more about it once we get closer to their Zoom Reinvented event on July 11th.

Anyone else excited?

Source: Nokia Conversations

Windows Phone updates have been a disappointing ordeal throughout the platform's existence. From the days of the tightfisted roll out of NoDo to today where several carrier-branded devices are still awaiting GDR1 'Portico', it's been a confusing system that has frustrated device owners. According to a new report, Microsoft is changing things up from the release of GDR2 and onwards but it's unclear if the new changes are for better or worse.

Uhh...what? The manufacturers within the sphere of Windows Phone have had muddled relationships amongst each other in the past, but this takes the trophy for the most confused mess yet. Earlier today news hit the wire that Huawei said, without even really being asked, they were considering an acquisition of Nokia. Let that sink in for a moment. Huawei. Buying Nokia. Again, the only reaction we have right now is "uhh...what?"

After what felt like a 'soft launch' for Microsoft Research's pet project on Windows Phone 8, the group behind the innovative and impressive BLINK is ensuring today that everyone knows it's arrived. A massive update for the popular lens app hit the Store earlier this morning and you may just find a new use for it now more than you ever did before.

For those who might have blinked over the past few jam-packed weeks of news, Microsoft has already announced the next update to Windows Phone 8. The forthcoming update, codenamed GDR2, will add a few changes like expanded support for Data Sense, the addition of FM Radio, global support for podcasts, and more. Unfortunately what we haven't known is when this update will be released, until today if you believe what Australian operator Telstra has published on their support website.