In this edition of Weekend Reading, we’ve got more news on Windows Phone 8 devices, the Halo 4 frenzy continues and a video of two slick Lenovo Windows 8 PCs.
Windows 8 on Lenovo’s Yoga. Next at Microsoft Editor Steve Clayton files this video in the “too good not to share” category. Courtesy of ABC news – Joanna Stern’s post has all the details on Lenovo’s range of Windows 8 PCs including the IdeaPad Yoga and ThinkPad Twist. Check out these impressive devices for yourself in the video over on Next (courtesy of ABC news).
T-Mobile adds the Nokia Lumia 810 to its Windows Phone 8 lineup. A few weeks ago T-Mobile announced that it’s bringing the Windows Phone 8X by HTC to its portfolio this fall. On Monday, it added the Nokia 
Lumia 810 to the mix. The Lumia 810 is an exclusive to T-Mobile. Inside you’ll get similar specs as the Lumia 820 – 4.3” ClearBlack display and 8MP Carl Zeiss camera, etc. – but you’ll also get a 1.2MP wide-angle, Skype HD-certified front-facing camera that’s 720p video-capable, a long-lasting 1800mAh battery and optimizations to make it screaming fast on T-Mobile’s 4G network. Catch more on this and other Windows Phone 8 devices from Ben Rudolph on the Windows Phone Blog.
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. Much like a Hunter, our studio is made up of many moving parts right now. So many, in fact, that it’s near impossible to keep up with everything. Last week delivered a new book (Halo: The Thursday War, by Karen Traviss), the chance to win some amazing prizes (Halo 4 Soundtrack Remix Contest), and the premiere of our live-action Web series (Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn). Between the new Forge information and video prologue for Halo 4’s Domain Terminals (both of which were released on Tuesday), along with the second episode of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (which released this morning at 3AM PT), this week is slated to be just as crazy. Head over to The Halo Bulletin, which gives a breakdown of the Halo 4 progression system!
Final week to enter: $250,000 to help public schools sweepstakes from Bing Rewards. We’re in the final week of our Bing Rewards $250,000 sweepstakes to help public schools. There’s still $50,000 in funds to be won and given away to add to the hundreds of teachers’ projects impacting thousands of students that have already been funded. If your name isn’t in this list of winners, there is time before noon ET on Oct. 15 to enter to win by searching Bing and earning credits with Bing Rewards. To find out how to enter or see who’s won, head over to the Bing Search Blog.
Sit, Stay, Skype! Petropolis uses Skype video chat to connect dogs and owners. Any dog lover will tell you: one of the hardest things about traveling is leaving little Fido behind. That’s why we were particularly interested to learn about Petropolis, a St. Louis-based dog boarding, training, grooming and daycare facility that’s been in business for 25 years. The staff there recently came up with a clever use of Skype to soothe the separation anxiety that plagues some of their (human and canine) clients. Read more of the story over on the Skype Workspace Blog.
Top 10 reasons students will love the new Word. The new Office is packed with features that students will love and Word is no exception! On Wednesday, the Word Blog presented the Top 10 reasons we think students will be head over heels for the new Word. Download the Customer Preview today and tell us which of these is your favorite new feature!
And a few top stories from earlier this week…
Artistry of ‘Contre Jour’ comes to the Web with Internet Explorer 10. After a busy summer with The Find, Pulse and Atari, Internet Explorer 10 today brings another well-known gaming experience to the Web in HTML5. The experience immerses users into a game rich with artistry and music, all while main character Petit – the one-eyed creature – seeks to save his love, The Rose. This world is “Contre Jour,” which is now available to play online as an interactive multitouch experience on the Web with Internet Explorer 10. Learn about how “Contre Jour” was brought to the Web in this Microsoft News Center feature story and on the Exploring IE blog. Meet Petit in the video below.
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Pulse on citizenship: Microsoft reports on its citizenship work across the globe. On Wednesday, Microsoft released our annual Citizenship Report, which provides an overview of our citizenship work over the past fiscal year, from July 2011 to June 2012. This is the third year in a row that we have released the Citizenship Report at the same time as our annual financial report. Together, these two milestones give our shareholders, customers, employees and many community partners a full view of Microsoft’s financial and non-financial performance across all business operations. Read highlights from the report in this message from Lori Harnick, general manager, Citizenship & Public Affairs, Microsoft.
That’s it for this edition of Weekend Reading! Thanks for stopping by The Official Microsoft Blog!
Posted by Jeff Meisner
Editor, The Official Microsoft Blog