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Microsoft teams up free Yurbuds earbuds with Fitbit Activity Tracker

Buy a Fitbit Flex or Fitbit Charge, and Microsoft will throw in a pair of $40 earbuds at no charge.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
3 min read

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For holiday shoppers, Microsoft is offering Yurbud earbuds free with the purchase of a Fitbit activity tracker. Microsoft

Those of you looking for a Fitbit activity tracker can buy one on Tuesday via Microsoft and get a free pair of Yurbuds Earbuds as a bonus.

The latest promo is part of Microsoft's ongoing 12 Days of Deals in which the retail giant tempts you with a special sale or freebie on a certain product. You can take advantage of the deal through Microsoft's online store starting at 5 a.m. PT or at any Microsoft retail outlet when it opens.

Through the new deal, you can purchase either a Fitbit Flex, which sells for $99.95, or a Fitbit Charge, which goes for $129. Whichever activity tracker you choose, you'll get the free pair of Yurbuds Earbuds, which normally retail for $40.

And if you're among the first 50 people to take advantage of the promotion at one of Microsoft's retail outlets, you'll also get a $50 gift card as part of the company's "Door-Buster Deal."

The Fitbit Flex serves as an activity tracker and sleep monitor. As such, it will track the number of steps you take, the distance you travel and the calories you burn as you walk or jog your way to better physical fitness. And by wearing the device on your wrist at night, you can determine many hours of sleep you get and how frequently you wake up. You can also compare your stats and achievements with those of fellow Fitbit Flex wearers.

The Fitbit Charge goes a couple of steps beyond the Flex. The Charge displays the time as well as a running count of how active you've been during the day. You can track your activity progress and trends by wirelessly syncing the data to your smartphone or computer. And you can keep track of your sleep during the night and set up a vibrating alarm to wake you up in the morning.

As for the freebie part of the deal, the Yurbuds Earbuds are geared for the athletic type. That means they're designed to stay in your ears during any kind of intense physical workout, no matter how much sweat pours down your head as you get in shape.

As you build your bundle, you can chose from among six different variations of the Fitbit Flex and Charge, including the large and small versions. And as for the earbuds, you can opt for the Yurbuds Ironman Inspire Talk Sport in either black or aqua or the Yurbuds Inspire 300.

Fitbit activity trackers have been hit by some controversy from users who say they've developed rashes from wearing the devices. The latest complaint comes from users of the Fitbit Charge, according to Engadget. Fitbit says that it's conducted comprehensive tests so that people can safely wear the device. But it does acknowledge that it has heard from some customers who have experienced skin irritations from wearing the Fitbit Charge. In response, the company offers a set of product care guidelines from dermatologists on how to take care of the device.

To lure in holiday shoppers, Microsoft kicked off its 12 Days of Deals on December 8 and will keep the promo alive through Friday, December 19. Wednesday's deal offers a free game with the purchase of a 4GB Xbox 360.

A separate deal from Microsoft running through December 20 offers a $100 gift card and a free sleeve with the purchase of a Surface Pro 3 tablet. That offer is good at both Microsoft's online site and its retail outlets.