The tech world has delighted us once again with a week packed full of exciting announcements, juicy revelations and intriguing rumors - but worry not, for 7 Days is here to guide you through the big headlines of the week. Let's get right into it.

We begin this week's review in the United Kingdom, where five leading mobile network operators have agreed to limit their customers' liability for calls made by thieves after their phones have been stolen. Astonishingly, some customers have previously been held liable for bills of up to £23,000 racked up by thieves, but the new commitment guarantees that victims of phone theft will now have to pay no more than £100, as long as they report their phone stolen within 24 hours.

Samsung was one of eleven hardware partners - which also included Dell, TrekStor, QMobile, Hipstreet and others - who signed an agreement with Microsoft this week, to preinstall the Office suite onto their Android tablets.

But while Microsoft has been working hard to expand availability of its Office suite, it's also been busy trying to protect its honor. The company has been buying various domain names, including the likes of office.porn, to prevent them from being used for sites hosting content that might raise a few eyebrows... among other things.

Microsoft rolled out a beta of its new Skype for Web service on Thursday, bringing much of the functionality available in its standalone apps to the browser. It's technically a private beta for now, but it is being made available to some users already.

And as if that wasn't enough, we managed to whet a few appetites hungry for new software, when we published details of Microsoft's upcoming new Bing Maps app.

Microsoft released a firmware update for its Surface Pro 3 on Thursday, adding enterprise disk encryption, and other new features designed to boost the device's business credentials.

And for those thinking of buying a Surface Pro 3, now might just be the right time to go for it. Microsoft is currently offering up to $150 off the tablet, along with a free protective sleeve.

Details emerged this week reportedly of a new Surface tablet - but this won't be the next-gen Surface Pro. Instead, it's said to be a more affordable device, effectively replacing the Surface 2, although it won't have the limited (and soon-to-be-dead) Windows RT operating system. The report claims that it will make an appearance at the company's Build 2015 conference at the end of April, running Windows 8.1, and will be upgradeable to Windows 10.

As development of Windows 10 continues, Microsoft announced further details about the OS and its plans this week:

So 'Windows apps' is how we must now refer to... um, apps on Windows - but it seems that Android apps may soon be part of the story on Windows too. Neowin revealed exclusive details regarding Microsoft's efforts to get Android apps running on Windows. Even this far into its development, a final decision has still not been made on whether or not Android app support will be included in Windows 10.

There was plenty of news this week about the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview, build 10041:

...and there's been no shortage of stuff about the Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones this week too:

The Windows Phone platform has been holding steady in terms of market share in recent weeks - it's not shrinking, but it's not growing either, which is hardly the news that Microsoft wants to hear, given that its Lumia range now represents a massive 97% of all Windows Phone sales.

Boosting availability of its new devices is one way that Microsoft aims to increase its share of the overall market. One of its latest handsets, the lower-end Lumia 640, is expected to join the T-Mobile range in the US, where it will be sold alongside the carrier's Lumia 635.

Microsoft has been pushing its low-cost devices pretty hard in recent months, with regular discounts and promotions across the globe. The latest such example came from Microsoft Malaysia, which is offering buyers of its Lumia 535 enough loyalty points in Air Asia's frequent flyer program to get a free return flight to Phuket, Krabi or Singapore.

Even Microsoft's mid-range devices occasionally get some promotional love. In the UK, you can now buy the Lumia 830 SIM-free for just £199.99 - a discount of £100 off its regular price - including a free Fitbit Flex (worth £79.99) and free delivery.

At that price, the Lumia 830 makes far more sense than its usual £300 cost - a bit too high for a device with fairly mid-range specs that's marketed as Microsoft's "affordable flagship".

If you're already a Windows Phone owner, you'll know for yourself what a sorry state the platform's app store is in. It's absolutely stuffed full of crappy, useless software that Microsoft has done nothing to address, and in fact, which it has actively encouraged, in its pursuit of quantity over quality.

Yes, you can point to various big-name brands that have joined the platform - but we would then have to remind you that some of them are now deserting Windows Phone. And in fact, many of the high-profile apps that remain are hardly worthy of praise either. As we pointed out this week, the Instagram app on Windows Phone hasn't been updated for over a year, despite lacking many of the features available in the same app on other platforms.

Remember: anyone who tells you that Windows Phone doesn't have an app problem - or that the "app gap" is now closed - is either completely mad, or trying to sell you a Windows Phone.

 

After releasing an Xbox One preview update earlier this month, Microsoft rolled out a second update on Friday to those on its preview program. This latest update introduces voice message functionality, along with dedicated servers for Party Chat and new additions and improvements to the What's On area.

Microsoft also announced that, in April, it will be offering two free games to Xbox One owners, and four free games to those with an Xbox 360, as part of its regular Games with Gold promotion. The company said that it's offering twice the usual number of free games next month "to celebrate our fantastic Xbox Live community".

Microsoft began teasing Halo 5: Guardians this week, with the first in a multi-part fictional exposé on the series' protagonist, Master Chief.

And also on the Halo front, 343 Industries launched a free-to-play multiplayer game called Halo Online this week, designed for PCs and built using a modified version of the Halo 3 engine. This all sounds very exciting - but unfortunately, it's only available as a closed beta. In Russia.

No, we're not joking.

As we bring this week's review to a close, just a reminder that there's still time to enter our giveaway of the Logitech G910 Orion Spark mechanical gaming keyboard, which did pretty well in our review. Make sure you enter here to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck, and have a great weekend!

Enter here for the full 7 Days roundup.

Image credit: Thief holding phone and money image via Shutterstock