Microsoft ad turns magazine into mobile WiFi hotspot

What better way to promote a cloud-based service than to give access to the cloud?

 

That's just what Microsoft did in pitching its Office 365 product, when its print ad for Office 365 in selected copies of the May 6, 2013, issue of Forbes magazine.

 

Lucky readers would get a Wi-Fi hotspot that offers 15 days of Internet access from T-Mobile —but the included battery allows only three hours of continuous browsing.

 

"Sure, the company would likely prefer you spend some of that time looking into its 'office in the cloud' and we can't exactly blame them considering the likely bill for this sort of promotion. But if you unexpectedly find yourself disconnected and there's a newsstand nearby, it might be worth skimming through Forbes," tech site The Verge said.

 

A separate article on DesignTaxi.com said the WiFi hotspot could provide Internet access to up to five devices at once.

 

The router may have to be recharged after three hours, it added.

 

Meanwhile, Mashable said the lucky readers to get the hotspot would likely be "a limited number of technology and business professionals." — TJD, GMA News