Generous Microsoft: Employees to get free Surface, Windows Phone 8, & new PC

Christmas is certainly coming early for over 90,000 Microsoft employees this year.

The technology giant is promising its workers a brand new Windows 8 PC for work, a new Windows Phone 8 handset, and a Microsoft Surface tablet, reports GeekWire.

The move coincides with the impending launch of the Windows 8 operating system and Windows 8 mobile devices in October. Microsoft undoubtedly wants its employees using all the latest products, and giving them away for free is certainly the best way to accomplish that.

Microsoft usually upgrades its employees’ work computers every three years, but it’s making an exception in this case, according to GeekWire’s report. The company also gave away Windows Phone 7 handsets when the devices first launched, meaning neither the new PCs nor the new phones are out of the ordinary for the company. However, the Surface “gift” is definitely a perk, since tablets aren’t yet as common for people to own.

Microsoft’s generosity goes well beyond anything that rival Apple does for its own employees. Apple employees do get a discount on PCs, but that’s it. Still, Microsoft at least understands that if you want to fully launch a new platform, you’ve got to be willing to dive in deep, regardless of how expensive it is.

GeekWire’s report indicates that the news was strictly internal, but we’re reaching out to Microsoft for additional details. We’ll update here if we find out anything new.